Our Litmus Test Election

 

There is not much I remember from high school chemistry class, but I do remember being fascinated with litmus paper. Essentially, this is an absorbent piece of paper which is impregnated with a water soluble mixture of different dyes extracted from lichens. It is one of the simplest tests for determining acidity or alkalinity in a solution.

Litmus paper comes in two colors, red and blue. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic or alkaline conditions. What I liked about it was the simplicity of the test. There was no ambiguity, as there sometimes is in science experiments. While using litmus paper does not tell you specifically the exact pH level, it does give you a quick yes or no answer as to its alkalinity.

As we approach our next Presidential election, this subject came to mind. For several decades now, our political system seems to be mired in partisan gridlock. With Congress in the hands of one party and the Presidency in the other, both parties have a legitimate reason to believe their way of doing things is the best and the one desired by the electorate. Both Democrats and Republicans claim to represent most Americans, but of course, they cannot both be right.



National elections are the one way we have of determining who has the most voter support and this one will certainly do so. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times, it was because most Americans recognized the success of his New Deal policies and wanted them to continue. Winning the popular vote gives politicians a mandate and lets them know their policies are on the right path. In some ways, elections serve as a form of litmus test – after the votes are tallied, we find out right away which party’s philosophy is the most popular. Like litmus paper, we determine each state’s status by whether it turns red or blue.

With that said, if ever there was a time that we needed a simple measure of where the nation is heading – it is NOW. There have been many superlatives thrown around about this election – the most controversial, unprecedented, and nasty campaign we have ever witnessed. Indeed, it seems at times we are facing an existential crisis – a point where the very values our country were formed on have been abandoned.

My friends know that I am liberal in my thinking, so it will not surprise them to hear that I consider Donald Trump’s candidacy a grave threat to our democracy. His constant falsehoods, insults and over-the-top campaigning has stymied even veteran political journalists, who have no idea how to characterize his outrageous attacks on his opponents. He is mired in controversy, with numerous lawsuits filed against him for sexual predation and corrupt business practices. His vocal support for policies promoted by white supremacists and alt-right extremists has brought to the surface a wave of hatred, racism and bigotry we have not seen for 50 years. Fact checkers have looked at his many statements and have determined he only tells the truth or partial truth 9% of the time. The rest of the time he does nothing but LIE to his supporters.



It is this constant disinformation that shakes the very foundations of American Democracy. Every American citizen is free to vote for the candidate which most closely reflects their views, but, when one party seems to be operating in a totally fact-free environment, we have a serious problem. Republican voters repeat the lies being told to them without question. In their minds, giving more money to rich people creates jobs, Hillary Clinton is a criminal, President Obama is a Communist dictator, the Affordable Care Act has bankrupted America and Hillary Clinton founded ISIS. And this is just a short list. I do not recognize the America they describe – one which is forcing most Americans into poverty, where black people live only in wretched urban ghettos, where America is the laughingstock of the World, where black people are the racists and poor people cause poverty.. As their rantings get further and further away from reality, it has become clear that facts no longer seem to matter when people weigh who to vote for.

There was once a time when political affairs turned on FACTS. A candidate who presented false information to the public was scorned and corrected by people who knew better. Many policies were science-based and politicians sought out scientists, researchers and even journalists to help them craft better legislation. Sadly, today, it is all gone.

 

The elimination of the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine and the rise of Social Media has created a media landscape where people are only exposed to information that supports their own views. The loss of the media “gatekeepers” opened up the media to many more people, but, when journalists no longer fact-check their stories, we are being exposed to information with little or no grounding in reality. The responsibility for making sure the information we are exposed to is accurate now falls on individuals, who could care less about verifying the claims and statements they make. Essentially, many people now think that, if they BELIEVE it, it is TRUE.

Ever since FDR’s New Deal, Republicans have tried to destroy every one of the policies that created the middle class, brought racial and sexual equality, and provided inexpensive education for most Americans, including myself. We have been the victims of a 70-year-old propaganda campaign by conservatives to convince us that our government is evil, corrupt, inefficient, dangerous, wasteful, totalitarian, and dedicated to destroying the American people. Who would have guessed that endless repetition of those messages it would eventually make people believe such absurd ideas?

Despite claiming to “love” America and wanting to make it “great” again, conservatives appear to HATE America and almost everybody in it. Their condemnation of blacks, immigrants, women, college students and gay people runs counter to the welcoming message of the Statue of Liberty and the exhortations of Bible scriptures. Their fervent belief that Hillary Clinton (AND the President) should be imprisoned suggests the kind of pogroms and payback we are likely to see if Republicans get control of the entire government. Their claim that government is EVIL then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When I have challenged any of my conservative friends on these points, they respond by telling me that MOST Americans believe in their fake scandals and hyperbolic criticisms of government officials. Because they never see any information to the contrary on Fox “News”, they truly believe that most Americans are waiting to join them in their willful destruction of the United States government.

I sure hope not.

I grew up in a country that respected science. I grew up in a country that was working to make all citizens equal members of society. I grew up in a nation where ALL Americans were provided a social safety net and a full-time job earned enough money to support a family on. I still believe I live in that country. I still believe the majority of Americans DO NOT support the attempts to demonize, oppress and brutalize different groups in our society. In other words, I still believe America is a “blue” country, in that it is based on liberal values like fairness, equality and prosperity for all.

If ever there was a time to find out where America is on these issues, it is now. Republicans claim to represent the majority, as do the Democrats. Hopefully, our election will provide a “Litmus Test” on who we actually are. We are in desperate need of answers about where we go from here. This election will indicate clearly whether America is a red nation, composed mainly of haters, or a blue nation, composed of people who want to make life better for EVERYBODY, not just rich businessmen like Trump.