One thing that really stuck out to me in the debate (besides the dumpster fire that was every word Trump uttered) was when Biden said, "don't compare me to the Almighty; compare me to the alternative." That sentiment--which is essentially, "hey, no matter what I've done, the other guy is worse,"--is exactly why I hate electoral politics.
One thing that really stuck out to me in the debate (besides the dumpster fire that was every word Trump uttered) was when Biden said, "don't compare me to the Almighty; compare me to the alternative."
That sentiment--which is essentially, "hey, no matter what I've done, the other guy is worse,"--is exactly why I hate electoral politics.
Biden and his supporters know he's not a good candidate. He doesn't generate enthusiasm for the future. The prospect of a Biden/Harris win isn't even that much of a relief for the vulnerable people Trump has kicked around for the past four years. Biden and Harris spent their careers kicking those same people around. Yet most people desperately want Biden to win because the alternative is so truly, demonstrably awful.
Many Americans think this election cycle is unique, that after Trump is defeated, we can go back to "normal" political discourse and "normal" elections. Those people, sadly, have terrible memories. It's been this way--albeit, less extreme--at least as long as I've been voting.
When I voted for John Kerry in 2004, I wasn't voting for him. I was voting against GWB and four more years of a war based on lies and bigotry, as were so many of my friends.
When I voted for Obama, I wasn't in love with his positions (he was surprisingly moderate on issues like LGBTQ rights and the Drug War), but Matt Damon et al kept reminding us that the alternative was Sarah Palin getting the nuclear codes.
In 2012, when I refused to vote for Obama a second time because he'd spent four years solidifying his reputation as Drone-bomber in Chief, my liberal friends insisted that it would be my fault if Romney were elected. Yes, Obama had turned out to be far more of a hawk and far less of a champion for civil liberties than we thought, but OMG ROMNEY ERIN WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?
In 2016, when I likewise refused to vote for Hilary because she had so much blood on her hands, I was told it was my fault Trump was elected. Liberals shouted for months at people who refused to vote for Hilary, even those who did so because they'd personally be vulnerable to her imperialist policies. It didn't matter that she would have signed her name on orders that would've destroyed their families; Trump was the Antichrist, and it was our civic duty to vote for whoever was running against him.
In 16 years of being an actual or potential voter, I have always been told to make "the alternative" to a terrible candidate my chief concern when I cast a ballot.
Now, we have two old men with weak-at-best grasps of racial strife, gender issues, classism, and police brutality. Both candidates have, in their careers, directly benefited from portraying minorities and the poor as dangers to "real Americans." Both have been credibly accused of sexual impropriety. Both have made complete fools of themselves when attempting to defend their records.
And this is our choice. After focusing primarily on "the alternative" for countless election cycles, we've lost all track of a candidate that resembles anything close to the Almighty. We can't even fathom a candidacy based on a contender's positive qualities, only their (relative) lack of negative ones.
So, in 2020, I don't have the slightest bit of patriotic fervor. I don't believe the system works, nor do I believe it's salvageable. Our electoral process is a broken down junker, running on fumes, and the only reason we're still driving it is because we've forgotten how to get anywhere without a car.
I do hope Biden wins, because the alternative really is more disgusting and dangerous to most people. I just hate that we live in a world where this is the system we have, and where so many people celebrate it without question.