Election in a Pandemic

 I hate terrorism, but I don't hate terrorists. Mostly. 

Or rather - I am aware that we defeat terrorism by giving people a path out, that the more we label people as 'terrorists' and act like they are irredeemable, the fewer options those who've started down that path have, and the more tightly they cling to it. 

And I hate terrorism. I want the idea that deliberately targeting non-combatants, deliberately doing things to make the people around you feel like they should do what you say out of fear of what you will do to them if you don't - I want it completely and utterly discredited. Proven that it Just. Does. Not. Work. I want anyone who is even tempted to think of it as a strategy to quickly dismiss the idea as foolish and stupid.

Which means that I want to chip away at any support they have, want to make it clear that we don't hate Muslims, don't hate people who believe differently, don't hate those who think poorly of us... but will bring down the wrath of God on anyone who thinks it's okay to go around bombing marketplaces. Or buses. Or airplanes. 

Make sure there's alternatives for people on the edge, make sure there are options... and the ones who are committed and fanatic, well. We can assist them in achieving the martyrdom they desire. Hopefully without dragging others into it.

I was thinking about this in a different context today. Namely, the terrible state of the nation I love and the people responsible for bringing it to this point.

And sure, there is plenty of blame to go around. This has been decades in the making, and acting like it's all one side (or one person) is overly simplistic.

That said, the pandemic is still going strong. We're hitting new highs for cases, and as usual the deaths will follow a couple of weeks later (though perhaps not as bad as when it first hit, in that we know a lot more about the coronavirus and how to treat it. Then again, hospitals are getting full again. And you can sometimes deal with that by sending cases to neighboring hospitals, but that only works so long as the pandemic isn't going strong everywhere at once. Of course, for most people that probably won't matter or affect them... right up until it suddenly does.)

That said, I want the current Republican Party to be completely and utterly rejected. Ridiculed. Marginalized. I want people to look at them as a lesson on what not to do, so that future politicians Never. Do. This. Again.

I tentatively have my hopes up. I've said it before and I'll say it again - Donald Trump is not winning over many people outside of his base. It's also true that when more people vote, they tend to vote Democrat - and we're seeing record highs for voting this year. Especially among young people, who are sort of the holy grail in politics. That is - they tend to be more liberal, and they have the numbers if they vote, but they rarely do and so their influence isn't really felt. That looks like it's changed this year.

Of course, a lot of it comes down to the actual political geography. That is, some states are reliably blue or red... not necessarily because the people in the state all vote that way, but because of gerrymandering or overwhelmingly large urban areas. That is - Illinois is reliably blue because Chicago has the bulk of our people, and they generally vote blue. The rest of Illinois is actually quite red, and many people downstate resent that their political wishes are always overpowered by Chicago. (I am not endorsing this view either way, just highlighting perspectives).

I haven't looked at the situation on that deep of a level, I generally trust the pollers and pundits to be aware of which states are swing states and which elections might lead to a flip in power for the House or Senate. 

It's entirely possible that the massive amount of voting won't be in the right places to make a difference, or not enough of one. 

Still - I'm disgusted with how much the Republican Party has enabled the situation, and I want them thoroughly and soundly rejected at all levels. Not because they're necessarily bad people, or directly did anything wrong...

But because they chose to call themselves that name, chose to be part of an organization that allowed this to happen. I want anyone who decided not to speak out because they were afraid of the political repercussions to learn that there are far worse repercussions when you don't. 

It's funny - we have had political earthquakes in the past. People who voted blue their entire lives because of FDR and the Great Depression. People who voted red because of the Civil Rights Movement...

The fallout from the pandemic might be very similar. 

Guess we'll just have to wait (a few more weeks) and see.