Rural Routes/Margot Ford McMillen

Lessons from the Election

Done! And aren’t we all glad to be shut of it? nnWe’ve been sitting on the couch but now we can start having conversations again. Talk about the things we can control instead of the things we can’t. Talk about things that we can work on. There are worlds of subjects we’ve been ignoring. Climate change. The U.S. deficit. Forever wars destroying entire nations and eliminating the chance at finding solutions through diplomacy.

At the same time, have to admit the 2024 election has taught voters a lot.

Here’s my list:

Seventy-five days—the amount of time between the last day of the Democratic Convention 2024 and voting day 2024—is plenty of time for a campaign. In fact, next election, media should start coverage 75 days before the vote and any media that breaks the silence beforehand should be shunned. What could the media have said in all the wasted days of 2024? How about covering the context of subjects voters should know about. Raise your hand if you know where Israel came from. Or climate change—is it important?

Folks that stopped watching the news after about Sept. 15 have my admiration for their effort at self-preservation. Media of all kinds—written, spoken, seen, memed and apped—bear the blame for the wasted hours of anxiety and blah blah blah.

Speaking of overblown campaigns, we’ve learned some lessons about language: Lies, convincingly repeated, can replace truth. We should know this by now, remembering how the biggest blowhard always draws the barroom crowd. Easy for a glib guy to get admirers to follow him (the military’s a good example. Ditto team sports) and where the guys go women follow.

And look at how easily we succumb to a good story. For Ds, those lovers of morality plays, the heros are the poor and underserved. For Rs, the heroes are strong and may even be bullies—witness the Worldwide Wrestlers, or Trump just being Trump. For either side, pluck a story from the excess of possibilities and watch it win hearts and dim minds.

While we’re on the subject of storytelling, let’s note how showmanship trumps intelligent conversation. Some media personalities, bless them, tried to elevate their discourse. But in 2024, even the best were struck dumb. Some tried to continue the excellent practice of fact-checking and found themselves interrupted, challenged, shouted down by their guests. My solution: Every TV­ interview should feature a fact-checking side panel or crawler at the bottom of the screen printed like translations in foreign films. Print media can use footnotes. For radio folks, pre-record interviews and add fact-checking voiced comments as the lies pile up.

It’s not surprising that Americans have forgotten how to tell fiction from fact. Most of us elders slip easily from the evening news (non-fiction, we hope) to a courtroom drama (fiction) and we can tell the difference. For the kids, distinguishing one from another is hard. A 20-something friend told me that the TV had been his after-school babysitter and Animal Planet was his favorite channel. In 2012, Animal Planet ran a program about scientists discovering evidence of mermaids. In 2013, there was a follow-up. My friend saw them, along with one of Animal Planet’s largest audience. The show was, of course, fiction — a “mockumentary” — but he didn’t know. He declares he’ll never trust media again. Can we blame him?

But I digress. Let’s go back to what we learned over the months of election frenzy.

Once again, the Electoral College has proven itself to be our founders’ worst idea. If not scrapped, it needs to be changed. This can happen one state at a time as voters realize the folly of their states’ winner-takes-all system. Two states—Maine and Nebraska—have led the way. We must start working on it now or it will be forgotten until 2028 when its importance kicks in. Let’s change it before state lawmakers ban amendments for the change. I can hear the arguments already: It’s part of the CONSTITUTION. Yeah, like the right to own assault rifles and the right to gerrymander legislative districts.

Here’s another lesson: Paper ballots, always. ‘Nuff said.

OK. So are there any positive lessons?

Here’s one: Minority groups have found their voices. Palestinian Americans demanding attention were able to engage Native Americans, African-Americans and other groups. Their coalitions revealed that they can strategize to turn their desires into real power. Women used the pro-choice fight to learn how to improve our status with strategic votes. Do we want White men to lose their power? No more than they wanted us to be silent in the past. But never mind. Let’s talk about coalitions.

Now we need real work and real conversations. Climate change. The U.S. deficit. Forever wars destroying entire nations and eliminating the chance at finding solutions through diplomacy.

There are worlds of subjects that we’ve been ignoring. Roll up your sleeves, voters! Now we claim our power!

Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, December 1, 2024

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