[THIS ESSAY REPRESENTS MY OWN OPINIONS, AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE POSITION OR VIEWS OF WD-40 COMPANY, NOR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES OR STAKEHOLDERS.]
I listened to the Democratic convention this week. With each speech, each testimony, I began to feel the hope that I have gradually been losing since 2016.
As we continued through Trump’s presidency, and especially through this year’s catastrophes, the fiasco of leadership in our country drained me. I’m far from alone. I know, democracy has always been a fiasco, but it’s the best of the alternative forms of government, by light years. The thing is, a democracy is only as good as the leaders we elect.
I have been afraid for our country, if Trump is re-elected. If he is, it would mean that:
- Half (or less) of the voting electorate have morals that are in alignment with that of a lying, cheating sociopath, who truly cares for no one but himself.
- Our democratic form of government will permanently change towards an oligarchic autocracy.
- There will be another civil war, but it won’t be through secession of states. It will be in the divisions found in every community in the country, stoked by the people who gain from creating those conflicts. Our country will crumble from the inside.
I’m angry that the highest ideals of the American experiment have been trashed in less than four years, and that makes me want to take action, beyond my vote.
I think this is a good thing. To be angry enough to get more involved, not less. But anger is a spark. It can’t, nor should it, be relied upon. Sustained anger becomes hate. Fear becomes anxiety, paranoia and depression. Hope and optimism are the true drivers of positive change, held in the hearts of people who will stand up and courageously act.
As the public demonstrations showed, courageous action is happening. And this week’s Democratic convention proved again that in crisis we can become better than we were. We can join together, no matter what party we represent, to fight for what countless Americans fought and died for. In many ways, this is the same challenge our country and so many others faced in World War II. The difference is that the threat to our democracy is within our borders this time.
If we were a nation united, other countries might try to influence our elections, but they would fail miserably. If we were a country who respected differences of opinion, of religion, of skin color, of who and how we love, no nation could sow division between us in order to get what they want.
When Trump was campaigning as the Republican nominee in 2016, I sat at a dinner table with four colleagues, directors of a private company we all served. Smart people. Accomplished people. As each person at the table in turn expressed their support for Trump, I was dismayed. Finally, someone turned to me and asked, “So, Stan. What do you think of Trump?”
I guess they expected a different response, by the look on their faces. I said, “He scares the shit out of me!” I saw a narcissist, a con man, a buffoon who would say and do anything he thought would get him elected. I saw a man who was addicted to attention. I saw a man who cared nothing for this country and all its people. I saw a man who cared only for himself.
But in this week I have seen, as never before in my life, people from all walks of life, and from all political philosophies, joining together to raise back up the vision of America that inspires me. Just like it inspired generation after generation since our beginning. I want that vision to be realized in my lifetime. I know, that’s selfish. But it’s far from impossible. I think we are on the brink of making it probable.
As so many people said this week, this election is not about policy, not really. It’s about principles and purpose. It’s about our values as a people.
In the election of 2016, only 58% of the electorate cast a vote. That means less than 29% of the electorate caused Trump to win. They were pissed off, and deserved to be, by the machinations in Washington D.C. Many of them had not yet recovered from the Great Recession. Wage growth was stagnant. Job opportunities with good salaries dried up. Even through the recovery, it was still nearly impossible to get ahead, save for the future, get a job that paid enough or had healthcare, for more than half the working population. They had a reason to reject the professional politicians. Most of us didn’t see it coming. I certainly didn’t. I thought, “How could anyone vote for this guy? He’s clearly just saying whatever he thinks people want to hear, sees who applauds, then repeats it if the decibels are high enough!” I mean, who could vote for a presidential candidate who had to pay hush money to not one, but two sex “professionals”? Who could vote for a man who bragged about molesting women because he was famous and could get away with it? What father of a daughter would do that? What brother or son? The list goes on and on from that November nearly four years ago.
Cheri and I are voting for Joe and Kamala. Not because we agree with every policy or plank of the Democratic platform. We’re voting for them not because we are afraid, not now. We are voting for Joe and Kamala because they have the character, the values, the humility and the humanity that we want from the leaders of our country. They will strive every day to serve their country, rather than striving every day to have it serve them. Joe and Kamala embody the vision of America that it was founded upon, and can still achieve. In my lifetime.