So, first off, I apologize if this diary is a bit long-winded or esoteric. It's just something I have been thinking about for some time, particulary in light of the recent ugliness in the Democratic race, sniping from people in both the Clinton and Obama camps, and accusations thrown by supporters of each candidate about the supporters of the other. It also comes after years of ranting, especially by myself, about how we don't focus enough on the "issues" while campaigning, voting, or electing public officials. We blame the media. We blame candidates. We blame the supporters of people who don't like our candidate, throwing around pejorative terms and accusations, or patronizingly think of them as "ignorant" or "uninformed" for voting against our interests, or what we perceive to be their interests. At the end of the day, it may just be that people, more often than not, vote based upon emotion, or irrationality, and this is simply part of the democratic process that we will always have to deal with.
More after the jump...
I, like (I presume) pretty much everyone here, will attest to the value of democracy and democratic institutions. I would even like to extend the notion of democracy in this country beyond our political institutions and political process, to the economic realm, as has been done in many other countries, with great success.
However, in supporting democracy and the process, I'm thinking that we just have to come to terms with the terms that much of democracy involves irrationality, as many life decisions are based upon irrationality. Irrationality comes into play in many situations. I use the analogy of jobs, or schools...when we are faced with the (lucky) dilemma of having a real choice, our decision often comes down to the idea that we simply "liked that one," as opposed to the other. Perhaps in politics, there's a lot of the same.
Further, when our decisions are made emotionally, it becomes that much harder to change our mind: Thus the sniping, the accusations, the lines in the sand, etc. drawn by both Obama and Clinton supporters. I'm a pretty young guy, only 25, but for as long as I can remember, political ads, campaigns, etc. have hinged entirely on emotion and irrationality. And I don't blame the consultants for doing this, because it is what works. I can't explain why, but it works. And it's not because people are complete idiots. Otherwise smart, educated, and media-literate individuals buy into it.
So we are left with a few options: Simply take this irrationality as an opportunity cost in the democratic process, or harness this irrationality - figure out how to utilize it better than the other side. But at the end of the day, simply calling names and patronizing the other side won't work.
Just some ideas that have been going through my head.