Election Day is Scarier than Halloween
Halloween wasn’t scary. Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, not scary. Election Day — yup…scary.
2020 has been like one long-winded horror film, worldwide. No matter where people are in the world, this pandemic has kept us in all in a suspended state of anxiety, ongoing stress and quite frankly, afraid of the unfamiliar. Our economy, our health, ability to earn a living, any semblance of social justice, hang on the democracy we create for ourselves. Every four years, we hope that what we think is important, will win. This year, more than hope, the sheer dread that it will not, has driven millions to the polls to vote early.
We react to what scares us, much more than a sense of communal wellbeing. In other words, impending doom forces us act, more than anything else. Knowing that people react to frightening possibilities, those who want power play on the distrust of what we don’t know for sure. One of the 1st things taught in the military is to consider anyone not like us, as subhuman and the enemy. Anywhere in the world, you can easily find leaders and those who hope to be leaders, use scare tactics to gain followers and in turn votes. Listen to the language used about anyone who does not look like us. No one is a good as our own kind. Those who want to sit in the seat of power know how to use scare tactics to advantage. Every ad online or any other form of media is negative and plays on the fear of others. This election, more than any other in my memory is driven by fear. In several parts of the country, retail stores are boarded up, in preparation of the possibility of civil unrest. Maybe nothing will happen but the unknown is frightening enough for both sides of the aisle.
No matter which way the wind blows, here we are on Election Day. America’s transfer of democracy is watched with interest, worldwide. From the outside, people who have never set foot in the United States, have opinions about our ballots and our candidates. Regardless of what the world thinks from the outside, this is our election and we have our voice. I have never missed a presidential election in my lifetime and pretty much haul myself down to vote in almost all of them. I remember that my neighbors used to say that their vote didn’t make a difference. This year, in spite of the pandemic, so many waited for hours, determined to do their part. As we stood outside during early voting, for about half an hour, socially distant, I didn’t recognize most people behind their masks. For some people, things are just great and they will go vote to keep the status quo. Others believe there is something better. No one is perfect, but I believe we are better than the negative words and the actions that instill anxiety in all of us.
Each election, we have taken for granted, the transfer of power. We expect it because we and the rest of the world believe in America the Beautiful. Our men and women, in all colors and faiths have fought for one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Right now, we are voting like our lives, our health, our economy and our sense of wellbeing depends on it.
In fact, it does.
