Opinion: Let’s stop idealizing politicians

By Jace Porter, guest writer

It is yet again an election year, which to most of the population means getting irritated by constant political ads for candidates you don’t know or care about and not voting and then complaining about the state of the nation anyway. Because if there is one thing Americans know how to do well it is whine and complain about the government at any given moment without actually wanting to do research or put in the effort to make changes to the government they complain about.

This has been a constant characteristic of American voters for so long that it has led to both major political parties becoming parodies of themselves. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this quote from Arizona GOP House candidate and former NFL player Jerone Davison where he says “When this rifle is is the only thing standing between your family and a dozen angry democrats in clan hoods you just might need that semi-automatic and all 30 rounds” (Watch the ad for yourself)

Funny yet real campaign ad aside what do I mean by this? 2020 saw record high voter turnout at 66% (Pew Research); before that, the average voter turnout between 2000 and 2016 was roughly 54.3% of the nation, only slightly more than half. So why is it when only 20% of Americans trust that the government is doing what’s right (Pew Research) that only about half of the country on average votes which is quite literally our right to pick and choose who makes the decisions that affect our day-to-day lives?

So let’s find out why the other half of the nation makes the choice not to vote. A survey conducted by Ipsos (Ipsos survey) ahead of the 2020 election did a survey regarding those who choose not to vote. According to the research, a majority of respondents said the reason they didn’t vote was because they felt that regardless of who they voted for and regardless of the outcomes of elections, it would not have a significant impact on their lives or on how the country is actually run.  

My friend, who is a trans woman, has plans to evacuate the country with her girlfriend in the result that Trump wins alongside Republican victories in the House and Senate. A willingness to pack up her life and move away due to fear of being able to live safely. Those are the two very extreme ends of the spectrum in terms of people’s attitudes towards voting. Some feel that going to the polls will change nothing while others feel the need to make preparations to flee for safety due to the results of the elections half of us say don’t matter.

What’s my point? My point is that believing your vote doesn’t matter or has no effect is an incredibly entitled opinion to have. And among developed nations seems to be a uniquely American problem (with some exceptions) as voter turnout falls behind 30 other nations (Pew Research). Let’s take a look at a nation that ranks remarkably higher in voting age population turnout rate. Peru which ranks in third place on that list with 83.6% of Peruvians voting in 2021. Why is this important? It’s important because the U.S. has put a travel advisory on Peru due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping. Despite that the people of Peru went and outvoted Americans whose barrier to entry to vote is taking 3 minutes to register to vote and then actually voting. That’s my point when I say nonvoters are entitled.

However, focusing back on America itself. Some would deem the plan to evacuate the nation an overreaction. I was having a discussion with an older gentleman, and I asked him what he believed that the LGBTQ community should do in the result Project 2025 was enacted. His response? “Act straight and make new friends.” This was said in a joking yet serious tone. It’s a testament to the fact that many of us are selfish individuals who believe the world revolves around us yet also lack the belief that our vote holds little to no meaning on the effects of our lives and the lives of those around us. 

 What is morality in modern America? Everyone will have a different answer to what morality is because morality is to each individual’s interpretation of what it means to be a moral person. Some may believe that abortion is a sin beyond forgiveness. Some believe that religion shouldn’t be used as the guiding principles that govern our medical procedures. Issues like abortion are why morality is many shades of gray in the US. Because you have someone debating across two different lines of reasoning, one debating on the morals or religion and one debating on the morals of forcing religious ideals onto individuals who do not wish to practice them. Neither side will look at things from the other side’s point of view because that would make their argument invalid. 

Because of this and because of the way news and social media function, many people, regardless of party lines, see their candidate as a perfect representation of what it means to be an American, man or woman, etc. Because the media and social media take advantage of the fact that most people want to be correct on everything, it has pushed people to be even more divided as social media has become better and better at using individuals’ data and history to properly create a little bubble where people feel like their ideas are the correct ones.

Because the media you consume and the social media feeds that have been curated to make you feel that you are the one in the right and everyone who feels differently is wrong—that’s how we gain this perception that our candidates are the perfect representation of us. And that the opposing candidate is everything that is wrong with this country. And any attack on a candidate’s values will to many people feel like a personal attack because they have so heavily aligned their values and ideals with the candidate they support. (Stanford philosophy entry on identity politics)

We want the people who represent us to be moral to be right to be winners. When in reality the perfect representation for us as people would be a person who accepts the imperfections of being a person. Because more often than not the people who portray themselves as perfect or are perceived as perfect are most likely just hiding something better than others. Take a look at Bill Clinton and Nixon with the Monica Lewinsky and Watergate scandals.

Now let me make this very clear: of our two main candidates in this year’s election, Trump is clearly the one who is morally lacking the most. Being proven to have sexually abused a woman and also being proven to have lied about it will get you that title of least moral, not even going into the convictions of 34 felonies. Which were tied to Trump falsifying business records to cover up the fact that he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money in order to keep her quiet and sway the outcome of the 2016 election against Hilary Clinton.

On the other hand, Harris is not a shining beacon of morality and prosperity. She heavily pushed for a 2011 Truancy bill in the state of California that would charge parents with misdemeanors if their children missed 10% or more of the school year with no reason, which disproportionately affected poorer Black families, more specifically Black mothers. (Read more here in the NPR Truancy article) 

How is everything I just said not supposed to create or add to the cynicism or as I called it, entitlement? It’s supposed to make you think critically about who we vote for and the people who lead us. Don’t idolize politicians to the point where you believe they can do no wrong, but also understand that your vote matters; people’s lives are in the balance and in your hands when you go to the polls. So do your research and go to the polls (Registration to vote)