My absolute favorite place to be during the presidential campaign season was logged into my Facebook account, for it was here that I could find within my circle of associates and friends, a community enthusiastically engaged in the political conversations and debates of the time. It was from my liberal friends that I saw posts that assertively supported Obama’s message of change, and saw pictures posted of them engaging in volunteer activities. Likewise, my conservative friends proudly posted pictures of Governor Palin and snapped iPhone photographs of signs they used at Republican rallies. The environment during that time was charged so abundantly that one had only to graze their fingers through the air to feel the spark generating through the atmosphere.
That enthusiasm has waned somewhat, and has been replaced by a complacency that is normal following elections. This normality would be easy to acknowledge if the collective and unprecedented involvement of otherwise politically disengaged individuals, had not led to the most historic electoral win in the country’s history. However, it did and with these results come responsibility.
Since President Obama has been elected, key events have taken place. We’ve had a governor disappear for several days leaving his state without leadership. We’ve had a congressman accuse the president of lying during a nationally televised address during a joint session of Congress. We’ve had the untimely debut of a discriminatory and misogynistic thesis statement written by an individual running for governor of a state. And, American citizens have found comfort in carrying weapons to presidential community addresses in order to show disdain for policy matters.
These acts, though few in number, represent not only a definitive disrespect for political office but also a blatant disregard for the ideals our country was founded upon. And, we, as a generation empowered by the constant flow of information, emboldened by the strength of a plentiful network, and the possessed with the ability to be connected to our colleagues and other like-minded individuals have at times lain dormant as these issues and events defined American culture as we know it today.
The fact that the leader of a state can temporarily relinquish his responsibilities to his constituency in order to satisfy himself in the arms of his lover for days, should challenge us to discuss the importance of accountability in political office.
The fact that an elected congressman can intentionally discredit and disrupt a speech being given by the President of the United States, and defiantly refuse to publicly apologize to his colleagues and to the nation, should motivate us to remember that the Office of the Presidency should always be respected and that voting and political contributions (no matter how small) can ultimately determine an “elected” official’s fate.
The fact that a candidate running for governor of a state can ascribe his decisive positions on discriminating against single mothers and homosexuals to the youthful, uninformed and naïve ramblings of a 34 year old grown man, despite a voting record that proves the contrary, should remind us that a candidate’s issue positions and voting record matter more than if he’s likeable enough to “have a beer with.”
And lastly, the recent disrespect of some of our conservative American counterparts that has materialized and manifested itself in protests involving gun-carrying citizens of this nation at presidentially-attended events is unacceptable, especially when the subject matter doesn’t involve the 2nd amendment. There is no way that one can articulately or logically argue the sense behind these actions, nor can these citizen’s decisions be rationally explained. Their actions, like the law of inertia, must be stopped by equal and opposite reaction in the form if peaceful, counter demonstrations.
Vladimir Nobokov stated, “Complacency is a state of mind that exists only in retrospect: it has to be shattered before being ascertained.” By recalling the passion that propelled us towards engaging in a diverse array of political rhetoric and employing our network to do the same, we can truly move America forward towards becoming the more perfect union described in the preamble of our Constitution.And, in the age of Facebook, where a user is just as likely to find an update about Kaine’s successor as they are to find one about Kanye West, let’s remember that the information age has brought with it and incredible opportunity to become an engaged, informed, and motivated community that keeps the issues that matter at the forefront knowing always that the potential for movement is entirely probable, AND what remains to be seen is the ability of those involved to realize the promise of such.
Labels: Complacency, Disengagement, Grassroots, Nobokov, Obama