Recently, I was channel surfing on a lazy day at home. I traveled through all the typical news channels, catching snippets of various political opinions and arguments happening on the major news networks. As I passed through these channels, I grimaced at the thought of the impending election and all of the "hoopla" surrounding each candidate.
It was about this time that my channel surfing led to one of my favorite movies, "V for Vendetta." The movie was already partially over, and happened to be in the midst of one particular scene in which William Rookwood is explaining how the fascist political power, known as the Norsefire Party, came into power in the post-Third World War United Kingdom. Rookwood explains that the party started by causing fear, falsely scaring the citizens to fear their current conditions, and then presenting themselves as the only solution to the people's worry.
I was immediately shocked at the tonality of this scene. The conversation of Chancellor Adam Sulter and his advisors reflected that of the snippets on the news channels I had been hearing. It was in this moment I realized something: Modern American politics hinges on the fear of the American People.
I am well aware that "V for Vendetta" is purposely an extreme example of a fascist takeover and I am in no way trying to compare that to either major American political party, Democrat or Republican. Neither is trying to induce a police state government on America. Nor am I trying to suggest that any of our candidates are propelled by the same power-hunger as the Norsefire. However, the reality is that American political candidates, like Norsefire, purposely induce fear in order to win an election.
How do they do this?
Well it's simple: Politicians’ first goal is to convince you that you should be concerned with the same issues that they are. The easiest way to make that happen is to paint these particular issues in the most negative light possible. A great example of this is Donald Trump's rhetoric regarding illegal immigration. Though immigration reform has been discussed as a major issue, it was not until Trump "increased" the importance of this issue that it became a front-running issue. Trump used questionable rhetoric; continuously referring to illegal immigrants as extremely negative to the United States.This rhetoric made his supporters fearful of continuing to allow immigration in its current form. Therefore, he was able to get his supporters to buy into his "wall" platform.
The reality is all politicians use this type of "scare tactics" to send across their message. If you listen closely to the candidates speak, they each are inflating a problem and then presenting their idea as a counter to that problem. The reality is that the problems in the United States don't necessarily have priority over one another inherently, but are prioritized by the American people as expressed through their voting records. For example, if Bernie Sanders were to win the election, education would seem to be the priority of the American people. This has been true in the past, such as Barack Obama's election marking healthcare reform as a priority.
V for Vendetta has put a certain perspective in my head though, heading into election season. Sometimes it's not about who is the biggest and baddest at solving problems, but rather about finding candidates that address the issues we find most important.
For the past 3 weeks I've had the beautiful opportunity to live in Greece, getting to explore famous tourists sights and talking with a handful of locals. Each and every single Greek person spoke about the United States as a world power. Though they could identify issues with the United States, they didn't understand why American's have such fear when it comes to voting.
They have a point, you know.
We shouldn't be afraid. We can't be afraid. The reality is the sky is not falling. Our economy, military, education system, industry, agriculture, etc. are all highly ranked in the world. Even in areas where we are not necessarily highly ranked, we make a big impact. We are a world power and that isn't going to change in 2020, or 2040, or 2060.
The point is we shouldn't vote this year afraid. Don't be afraid that if you don't vote for Donald Trump, we will lose all our jobs to Mexican immigrants. Don't be afraid that you must vote for Bernie Sanders otherwise all the marginalized will continue to be marginalized. Don't be afraid that you must vote for Hillary Clinton because she has the most experience. Vote for the person who is most willing to listen to compromise. Vote for the person who you believe has the best view of American society. Vote for the person who addresses your needs.
Be conscious about your vote, be careful with it. Exercise your right in a careful manner, and don't let anyone win your vote because they've scared you into it.
