Social Distancing Journal, Day 202: The Waterstrauts Vote

 I have struggled with writing this blog for weeks now. Which is part of the reason you haven't seen me post anything from October. I plan on catching up today. But, here we are.. the voting blog. Now, I love Politics. In another life (pre kids- so basically high school dream Corinne), my dream was to be Press Secretary of the United States. I know, I know. Social anxiety me, that's bananas, right? But, it is true. If not, I wanted to work in Public Relations. PUBLIC. RELATIONS. Can you even imagine? That's like the opposite of Social Anxiety. Still. I love spin. I love secret smoke filled rooms deal (the Rooms Where Things Happen if you will). 

My absolute favorite books are about election backroom dealings. Have you ever read "Fraud of the Century"? Let me tell you, the first chapters on Daniel Sickles (who is amazingly terrible in his own right- a "hero" of Gettysburg, the guy who shot Francis Scott Keys son for sleeping with his wife- and not even in a duel! Just walked up to park bench and shot him! And then was the first guy in US history to get out of murder charges "by reason of insanity") But he's also the guy that tipped the 1876 Election (arguably the CRAZIEST in US History) to Hayes. Sickles screwed over Samuel Tilden when the election was all but won for him (not even as himself- posing as Zachariah Chandler!) But hey, I got a home town president out of the deal. Nevermind the whole, setting Civil Rights back decades. 

Ok, ok. You don't care about any of this. My point remains, I LOVE all that stuff. In the fun books at least, I can barely manage to get myself through the dry history stuff. History can be amazing, and fun, and educational! (You know, learn from history or you're doomed to repeat it and all that). ''And so usually during an election year, I am amped to head out to both rallies, to buy cookies with the candidates faces on them, to vote on election day, to make patriotic snacks for election night. 

Sure, I've had a preference on who I wanted to win. None more so than last time. And sure, I spent a month glued to CNN with my college roommate in 2000 hoping Florida could keep counting and Al Gore would be declared the winner. Sure, I sported my "Barack the Vote" shirt to the polls in 2008. And yes, I've cast my ballot for guys I wasn't particularly excited about (here's looking at you John Kerry). 

But, this year is different. This year, I feel absolute dread if Donald Trump gets elected to another four years. I feel like America won't be what I thought it was if he gets elected for another four years. I feel like things will spin even more out of control. I worry about marginalized communities. I worry about our immigration policies. I worry about the environment. I worry about real, actual fake news conspiracy theories. I worry about the good of humanity. 

I'm tired of his tweets, his rhetoric, his name calling. I'm sick of all the Republicans who are stooping to his level with all of that. You know how to pronounce Kamala's name, just pronounce it. Ron DeSantis, you know CNN isn't fake news. Stop screaming it at rallies. 

I am sick of him announcing policy changes on Twitter, with no real way to implement them (thank God). I am tried of his complete inability to see anything outside of himself and how his decisions effect him. I'm tried of the narcissism. 

I'm tired of the President of the United States legitimizing white supremist groups. I'm tried of him retweeting conspiracy theorists. I'm tired of everything he doesn't like being labeled "fake news". I'm tired of "real news sources" being outlets like OAN. 

And I'm tired of the lies. Yes, he lies. He lies a lot. He gives inaccurate half truths like every politician, but he also flat out lies. He tells us to believe things that the data, the science, even our own eyes tells is not true. I'm especially tired that he's made things that shouldn't be an "opinion" an opinion. We're not "rounding the corner". Cases are rising. That's a TRUE fact. Supported by data. By doctors. By scientists. Climate Change is real. It's supported by data. By scientists. I literally had someone the other day tell me "it's your opinion cases are rising." What even is that. Have you even read 1984? Or fine. Animal Farm? You're being told not to believe things you can see with your own eyes, it's infuriating. 

So yes, I cast my ballot AGAINST Donald Trump. Like so many Americans, part of me wasn't voting FOR something, I was voting against. It's not uncommon. There's tons of elections where it is more about who the voters don't want than who they do. (I should know, this year, I've literally researched EVERY. SINGLE. ELECTION. in US history- ok, that's an exaggeration, I still have three to go. But still.) 

Side note: can we stop with the socialism charges? It's literally so old, it's been used for the last 100 years. Taking your guns is a bit of a new-ish threat. Still, overplayed. Every single election there's a guy older than 60, we pick apart his health. And ridiculous fear inducing commercials are as old as TV (and before that there were plenty of political cartoons. Dude, Martin Van Buren was drawn as Andrew Jackson's puppet.) It amazes me how easy propaganda must work. I've been on the Trump mailing list since I went to his rally, and I get at least 4 emails a day, and it's so transparently obvious that it's complete propaganda. It's like what would show up in your fourth grade social studies book under the headline "Spot the Propaganda". 

That's the other thing. I went to a Trump rally. I went to his inauguration. You might not say I gave him a fair chance (I was literally never going to vote for him last time, or this time), but I did at least hear him out, with my own eyes and ears. I've wanted to go back and read those blogs. I know I thought maybe he would pivot. A Chester Arthur kind of pivot. But no pivot would ever come (And I was ALWAYS hoping for one. Even when he got Coronavirus, I thought, maybe he'll finally pivot on this issue). The man just does not pivot. If anything. He digs. In. 

And I know I thought, well, he's my president now. But, that's not true either. He talks about blue states and red states. Democratic run cities (aren't like most big cities Democratic run?). He acts like he's only president to his base. That Trump I saw at his rallies. His inauguration. He hasn't changed an ounce. 

So I just don't think I have it in me to re-read those blogs, and re-live those moments. I don't need to be more disappointed and defeated. And besides, some of those memories are so vivid, I will never forget them. A black woman fell to the ground at Trumps inauguration in tears, while white men shouted obscenities' at her. And I just thought, this is going to get so much worse. And it has. 

So yes, I voted AGAINST Trump, but for a multitude of reasons I also cast my ballot FOR Joe Biden. 

I want Climate Change to be a real priority. You can turn back the damage on a lot of things. But you cannot undo the damage to national lands, endangered species, or even just pollutants. It's not that easy. 

I want College to be more affordable. For Calib. For Peyton. For Hayden. But also for every other kid who wants to further their education without going into debt they'll be saddled with for the rest of their life.  

I want every American to feel like they matter. I don't want anyone to be afraid of how they might be treated, worry about their livelihood or even just their lives because of the color of their skin or their sexual orientation. I want diversity. Everywhere. In Every thing. 

I want healthcare to be a right, not a privilege. When Asa lost his job (that was shipped overseas during the Trump administration, for the record), we used the ACA. It was a lifesaver. I know there are issues with it. But, without it, when one of our kids went to the Emergency Room we would have been screwed. 

I want the court system, Congress, and the White House to reflect the majority of people. I don't know what the answer is with the courts, the Senate, or the Electoral College, but I think we need to look long and hard at how things are beginning to reflect the minority of Americans, and not the majority. 

I want a kindler, gentler nation. I want empathy to come back. I want people to wear masks for each other. I want the Pandemic to stop being politicized. Because I don't want people to die, but also, selfishly, I want life to return to pre-pandemic normal. 

So, yes. There are a lot of reasons I voted against Trump. But there are also a lot of reasons I voted FOR Joe Biden. 

I'm encouraged by all the early voting. All the younger people voting. People standing in line for hours if they have to. I applaud everyone. I'm hoping this trend holds, and people continue to vote in record numbers. 

I'm encouraged by a lot of things. 

Historically, high voter turnout benefits the Democrats. 

Historically, an incumbent with such a low approval rating does not win re-election. 

Historically, an incumbent who fails to meet the gravity of a crisis gets voted out (here's looking at you Herbert Hoover). 

Historically, a guy who loses the popular vote but wins the electoral college does not get re-elected (George W. Bush is the only one to have done that). 

Historically, if the election is more about who people don't want, than who they do. It's a downfall for the incumbent (you go with the new guy, because the old guy has a proven track record.) 

So historically, this all benefits Biden. But, if 2020 taught us anything, you never know what's around the corner. Anything can happen. So vote. VOTE. VOTE. VOTE. 

And, that is my two cents. On to the blog. 

Day 202: Thursday, October 1

We decided, for us, the best way to vote would be by mail. So we ordered are ballots, and a couple of days after they came, we all voted together. It's a little sad Calib and Peyton's first voting experience was vote by mail, but 2020, man. I made us a little voting booth to make it more official. 

Plus, I could take more voting pictures than I could have if we early voted. 

Peyton gets to vote for the very first time! 

Calib, who voted for the first time in midterms, got to vote for President for the first time. 

And we all got our "I voted" stickers! 

Now, Asa and I did let the boys know the candidates we were "endorsing". They didn't have to vote that way. But let me tell you, you really have to dig to figure out who the best candidate is for mosquito control. There was some Facebook drama there for sure. 

So, that's it. Now, I can move on with the rest of my October blogs before October is over. And then cross my fingers and toes for Tuesday. (And yes, I know it's unlikely we know the winner on Tuesday, but that's just fine. Despite what Trump says, you don't have to know the election results on Election night.