Electoral dissonance

I've been observing the latest round of elections and campaigning across the pond, trying to stay open-minded and aware. It's a bit disturbing to see how polarized the political system has become. Decades ago, people in the same household could have differing political opinions without conflict. Nowadays, it feels like you're either on my side or you're a bad person, with shaming and derogatory responses for those who don't share your exact opinions. If I get any comments on this post, I kind of expect them to be in that vein.

The January 6th storming of the Capitol in 2021 is evidence of this polarization. With such division, it's easier to stir up hatred in the masses, on either side.

On one hand, you have Trump, who is up for re-election. From my perspective, he seems to use every manipulation tactic to set his own agenda. He's faced multiple legal issues over the years, some still unresolved. Despite this, there's a belief that his re-election would be good for the economy, with stock markets and Bitcoin surging whenever the polls swing in his favor.

On the other hand, you have Kamala Harris. She seems smart and level-headed, making good arguments for why Trump shouldn't be in power, which I agree with. However, I don't see what she brings to the table. The last four years under Joe Biden have been pretty flat and ineffectual. While Trump's actions stirred up drama, they were high-profile, and people seem to like that, good or bad. I think the country would be more stable under Harris, with less outlandish or antagonizing actions and speeches, but the markets don't seem to favor her as much. My gut leans towards Harris, mostly because I fear Trump could go full-on fascist totalitarian, but that could be due to the information I have access to. I'm admittedly left-leaning with some right-leaning elements, so maybe I'm a centrist?

Regardless, I don't get a vote. I'm merely observing via the information I can access and hunting for views from both sides. What stands out most to me is that if your political leaning is left or right, the other side labels you as an extremist, far left or far right. Celebrity endorsements seem to agree with this. Elon Musk and Gina Carano recently endorsed Trump. Musk likely because of alignment with his business interests and deregulating policies. Carano's reasons are less clear. I like her and have followed her career and the Disney conflict with interest. Cancel culture targeted her for some edgy social media posts, and Disney fired her to save face. I think it was hyped up to be more extreme than it was. When pushed by a bubble, the natural inclination is to double down and push against the group that did so. It could be that she simply opposes the 'leftist' culture powered by her own bubble.

When I say bubble, I mean the environment we're exposed to. What is filtered to us by social media feeds our confirmation bias, the view of our peers that align and embolden our own. We tend not to see what's outside that bubble, and when we do, we reject it. The Oatmeal did an awesome comic on this confirmation bias you should read. Like, now!

In summary, the right's view of the 'far left' seems to expect the removal of people's freedoms and rights (guns, vaccinations) and excessive government control (Ala V for Vendetta). The left's view of the 'far right' involves the removal of social equality, nationalism, xenophobia, and resistance to progressive changes. From my digging, it seems there's a lot of crossover in the more extreme views, simply bucketed into 'that's their view' because they are so unbased on reality or cruel and inhumane.

The truth is much more subtle. All of this results from cognitive biases set out to protect ourselves from the 'others'. Everyone lies on a spectrum, can have views that align with the left or the right, and probably don't actually align with the extremist views. But news, activists, and social media portray it as such to win votes for the side they align with and because it's clickbaity. It gets people riled up and engaged, keeping them in the headlines, getting attention, and making money. What's the downside, right?

I guess my point is, think about your views, be open, do the research, and be mindful of what is filtering into your bubble. It's uncomfortable to do this work, but that's a good thing. Regardless of who is elected, it's all downhill unless, as a people, everyone can come together and see each other as equals, with views, with flaws, but people just like yourself. Take care all, and get out and vote!