America Needs to Evolve
This may seem out of the blue, pun intended, but the Democrats will have poor luck in the 2020 presidential election. I don’t expect a fundamental change and it’s frightening. Although I am neither conservative nor liberal (I like to think myself as an intellectual), I certainly cannot imagine the damage that will be done to this country’s economy, people, and reputation after another four years of our current president.
This nation is as divided as ever and is consequently alienating its voters. According to Brilliant Maps, in the 2016 presidential election, if votes not cast to Hillary, Trump or one of the third party candidates had gone to a fictional candidate named “Did Not Vote,” the hypothetical candidate would have taken 471 electoral votes in a staggering 41 states. With voters feeling constricted to two polar ideologies, there has been no representation of the in-between. The plurality seems to cause the deterioration of American democracy.
Meanwhile, we see a schism forming amongst minorities on the left—a division caused by cop Peter Liang’s shooting of a black man, Akai Gurley, and the disagreements over Affirmative Action. This is no new phenomenon. The exclusion of women from the 14th Amendment, which enfranchised black men, spurred a rift between the women’s suffrage movement and the black civil rights movement. Instead of drawing from the combined potential of the two groups, feminists and black activists maintained their distance, perhaps slowing their progress.
Any loss of progress is unacceptable for a political body that historically supports progressivism. Groups that feel disadvantaged by the status quo tend to vote for Democrats with the hope that their ideology will influence those elected to draft policies that will change American life for the better. These specific groups are numerous: African-Americans, the Latinx community, women, young people and many others. Yet, support for the progressive left these days originates more and more from younger people, especially college and high school students. The onus is on the younger generation to produce an innovative agenda as advertised by the Democrats.
Clearly, moderately-left America has the intellectual capacity to set the country back on track, but the “oppression Olympics,” precedented by generations of activists refusing to cooperate, are not helping the cause. One of the advantages that conservatives hold over the Democrat body is their unity and consensus. The foundation of their ideology is to maintain the traditions that keep order in the United States. In general terms, the GOP consists of conservatives and radical conservatives; they are focused on sustaining order, which offers little variability in their opinions. Because the concept of change is vague, different interest groups will have different views of what change means.
As shown in the 2016 presidential election, unity is the strength of the Republican party. Republicans are historically white, wealthy, and old, and they wish to preserve the status quo that looks after them. As a result of their fundamental principle of change, Democrats encompass a wide variety of people with unique perspectives. This is not to say the Republicans do not have a diversity of opinions, but, the Democratic body naturally appeals to a more diverse following because of its rhetoric. This presents a challenge for left America to find common ground amongst a diverse body.
It is not a “diverse, progressive” image that will spur improvements in the political system. The actual diversity of perspectives plays a larger role; more opinions and experiences on the table allow for the novel ideas and innovation desired by people who support progress. According to the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, companies that placed in the top quartile of racial and ethnic diversity were 35 percent more likely to surpass their industrial medians in terms of revenue; those who placed in the first quartile for gender diversity were 15 percent more likely to surpass the median. Building a team of members who are not alike increases the potential of the entire group, for someone’s weakness may be another’s strength. Plurality can serve as a powerful tool in fueling meaningful change if we apply it to this nation as a whole.
I believe that the diversity of voices can and should be a strength, not an impediment on progress. If Democrats, Republicans and their respective candidates are to find any success in the upcoming presidential election, they must embrace the nation’s differences. When divided into sects, we are weak; it is the combined variation of opinions and ideas that make America truly great.