Election eve musings and mutterings

I’m cursed and blessed by being the only Socialist in a birth family of Republicans. Before you go making a crack like, “Yeah, that’s because you’re the only one with a PhD,” let me tell you that I became a Socialist long before I graduated from college, and that I know very intelligent and informed people who are Republicans. I think it has more to do with remembering what it was like to enjoy the abundance of Food Stamp arrival day, knowing that my mom worked harder than any one I knew (or know) but was still not making it, being grateful for how we were taken care of anyway. (Somehow, the time the California welfare system decided to audit my mother and didn’t make payments for a whole month – and my college savings from babysitting money was swallowed up into a black hole – hasn’t shaken my belief that we need governmental social services for the most vulnerable.) Maybe it had to do with the bags of hand-me-down clothes or the Christmas turkeys that would appear from time to time, and knowing it wasn’t my fault, or that of my siblings, that we had so little. (And if I were permitting myself to write about religion and politics in the same blog post, I would talk about the socialistic early Christian church, but I’ll save that.) It also has to do with the fact that I lived in Sweden for two and a half years, a place where ‘Socialist’ wasn’t a dirty word, and where people I admired actually were, and are, Socialists. And they didn’t, and don’t, go around making life hell for Americans or making sure nobody celebrates Christmas, which is the impression I got as a child in the US.

For whatever reason, I believe strongly that we’re in a social contract not so that businesses can have the right to shove advertising into our mailboxes, computers and ears any chance they get under the guise of ‘free speech’. I believe we’re in it because life is dangerous and unpredictable, and if we band together, we can help each other navigate those dangers better than if we do it alone. And included in those hazards are things like mental illness, job loss, cancer, depression, chemicals in the drinking water and hurricanes. I don’t think people should be helped around, through and with those things solely by means of the generosity of others or the trickling down of wealth from above. I think certain things should be guaranteed by our system of government, such as education, medical care, food and shelter. If we’re all taken care of, we’ll be kinder to each other, and we’ll be less aggressive and desperate. And nobody, but nobody, needs enormous mansions or multi-million-dollar sports cars or any of the other trinkets or status symbols that the very wealthy have. Sure, there are those who will abuse such a system, but I think that some of that abuse in our current system stems from people feeling utterly defeated and disenfranchised. I believe there’s enough abundance out there for everyone, even the lazy. Our bodies were made for work, and, given a task that appeals to our abilities and pride, who wouldn’t want to work?

So here I sit on Election Eve (or rather, very early on Election Day) wondering how it’s going to go for the US. This is the first presidential election I’m not home for, but it doesn’t mean I’m any less anxious. I care about the US, and I care about those who live there. 

But I’m not going to sit here and bash the presidential candidates because they aren’t Socialists. I want to talk about working together, which is something Finland seems to do better than most countries. I know, it’s easier to do in a place where there are fewer citizens than in the state of Maryland. But the system itself is better. There are several parties (I think about nine), and they send representatives to Parliament in proportion to the election results. They need to work together to get things done. Our system is so adversarial, it’s no wonder we stagnate.

I wish instead of all the venom-spewing and sound bites about 47% and exaggerations of what will happen if so-and-so is elected and how people who vote for X will go to hell, we could focus on what we have in common, and why we have different ideas about how to achieve it. We all want food and clothing and shelter and decent medical care and an education and something to look forward to at the end of the work day. We want meaningful work and safety for our children. We want to be able to afford our lives. Why is it so hard to agree on the things we have in common and figure out, together, different ways to accomplish them? 

I have to admit, I slip into the maelstrom of nastiness. I repost the latest gaffe by Romney and complain when the other side does the same about Obama. I have taken malicious pleasure in seeing the meme of Romney’s jet with a race horse strapped to the top. I’m as guilty as anyone else of partisan solipcism.

So I guess I have to say that writing this blog is helping me to exorcize some of that – to get it out of my system and admit that I really just want this election to be over, because it makes my blood pressure rise and brings out the uglier side of myself. I’ll heave a big sigh of relief no matter who wins. Because then I can stop getting upset at my siblings and right-leaning friends, and we can move on to our usual ways of supporting each other no matter what our political persuasion.