Election Burnout

Published at 2024-11-03T20:09:39-07:00

Well, it is that season again. Leaves are beginning to change colors, pumpkin spice is in the air, and everywhere you look you get punched in the face with politics. If you are from a country other than the US, or you live under a rock, the US presidential election is happening this Tuesday, and if you are like me you are ready for it to be over.

Importance of Elections

I am actually very passionate about politics. Being involved is one of the most important things you can do in a democracy. The main reason for this is it prevents us from getting to a political environment we are already in. A democracy, and for all the people saying "but the US isn't a democracy, it is a republic", yes, you are technically right, but this still applies. In a democracy, the concept is rule of the majority. In a republic, it is basically the same, rule of the majority with protections for the minority. When you look at something like the Nazis or the CCP, they are totalitarian regimes which can be quickly summarized as rule of minority, or the party. When people in a democracy don't vote, the number of people making important decisions for the country become the minority. In the state that I am from, in the Republican primary, the parties decision on who should represent them on the ballot was decided by a mere 9% of the Republican party. 9%! That is abismal! When you start getting into those numbers, it is a small minority making big decisions. This further pulls people to the extremes and alienates the majority of voters who now feel like their opinion doesn't matter since it isn't aligned with the minority that are vocalizing their opiinion. This creates the climate we are in now, two parties, screaming at each other, while the average voter is sitting in the middle, hating everything.

The Burnout

Like I said earlier, I am passionate about politics. I try my best to stay as informed as I possibly can from the most un-biased sources I possibly can. I love talking politics and hearing other viewpoints and why people think the way they do. I find it all incredibly fascinating. But I can't right now. I woke up one day and the burnout just hit. I didn't want to read the news, I was sick of everything going on, and I just wanted to finish filling out my ballot, drop it off, and be done. Anyone that knows US politics, knows that this is a pipe dream. The election is Tuesday. We probably won't know the results until at least Thursday, but possibly not until the weekend, or even next week. And after that, there is going to be so much screaming, and so many lawsuits. There are still people complaining about the election that happened 4 years ago. Last presidential election, it was mayhem from election night, all the way until inauguration day. Until that day, no one truly knew what was going to happen. Don't expect this time to be any different.

What can we do

The million dollar question. I wish I knew. The only thing I can think of is to get informed, vote, and spread the word. You don't need to debate or talk politics, we just need informed voters. Maybe, just maybe, if we get more people voting, we can start to have some compremise and start cooling this toxic environment we are all living in. But I am not a political scientist, just someone who is passionate and has taken a couple classes. I'm not even trying to convince anyone of anything in the post, more just trying to vent my frusterations and get through this hell of a time.

Wrapping Up

Thanks for reading my rant. For all the people outside of the US, welcome to US politics. For any fellow US citizens, lets get through this. Lets stop all the hate. Lets compremise. Lets work together, civilly. And lets hang on through this next election cycle. I would love to hear anyones thoughts! I haven't been able to figure out misfin yet, so if anyone has any advice on how to get that up and running I would appreciate it. Otherwise you can reach me via email or gemlog reply. Stay strong out there!