Ten Things I’ve Learned from Election ’08

Boy, am I glad this election’s over! Okay, so it isn’t quite all the way over. I’ll be voting this afternoon, but I’m anticipating certain outcomes. America will elect its first black president, Democrats will be in total control of the House and Senate, the media will embark on a lengthy, orgiastic, love-fest with the Savior in Chief. The world will love us again, liberals will gloat, George Bush will slither into the historical sunset, and we’ll begin our slide toward Doomsday. (Okay, strike that last part.)

In reflecting upon this long, brutal, election season, here’s 10 things I’ve learned from Election ’08, in no particular order:

1. The Christian voting bloc is fractured — It used to be that Evangelicals were a powerful constituency, rallying against cultural causes like abortion and gay rights. But this election revealed more splits than ever. The resurgence of a new type of believer, young social activists eager to distance themselves from the religion of their parents, tilting ever closer toward theological liberalism, has compromised whatever political clout Evangelicals once had.  (See my article, Evangelicals and Emergents: The Political Divide for more.)
2. Each election cycle becomes more volatile, pushing us closer toward violence — I hate to say it, but I believe it’s true. It seems every election some pundit is there to remind us that, unlike Third World countries, Americans can oust administrations without firing a shot. However, as the rhetoric continues to intensify, outrage becomes status quo, anger ratchets exponentially, and meanness doesn’t matter, we drift closer to societal implosion. If Barack Obama is somehow not elected President, you will see angry charges of voter fraud and minority suppression, possibly pockets of violence. Think LA Riots on a larger scale.
3. Politics are becoming way too complicated for the average person to understand —  Wasn’t this how Rome fell? The proliferation of lawyers and “legalese” put the power in the hands of the elites, that’s why normal people who suffer injuries find so much trouble getting legal representation, although there are cities like Boise where you can get good representation with local lawyers. The same is true today. Heck, just trying to read through the average State Ballot is an exercise in tedium. The more “experts” it takes to explain an issue, the less Joe the Plumber really matters.
4. As regards politics, most Americans are largely uninformed, unsophisticated and naive — This is partly due to #3, wherein the system itself is monstrously complex. (Just try grasp Economics 101, for starters.) Still, the American masses have been culturally conditioned by the electronic media to eschew prolonged contemplation, and to think in terms of (1) Images and (2) Sound-bites. Of course, this is a generalization, for there are lots of voters who understand the issues. Nevertheless, the majority of voters are largely oblivious to the complexities of politics. I know many people who will vote for Obama simply because he’s (1) Black, (2) Cool, and (3) We need a change. Voting while dumb may be the equivalent of driving under the influence.
5. The American press has sold its soul — I can remember no other election where the press has fallen so obviously for one candidate. And this under the guise of “objectivity.” It’s been fairly well-documented (see: How the press reported the 2008 election from Journalism.com, Obama leads the Media Race as Well, from Center for Media and Public Affairs, and Media Credibility in, off all places, The New York Times). The caveat: These facts remain grossly under-reported.
6. Gay Marriage will inevitably become a fixture in the USA — Even if Prop 8 passes out here, there is a inevitable sentiment toward condoning gay marriage. Of course, it’s framed as a Civil Rights issue, which is misleading. Sadly, much of the support for gay marriage comes from the Religious Left.
7. Polling is out of control — If it’s not Perception Analyzers it’s streaming data; we’ve become so wired we can’t so much as sneeze without having our emotions quantified and sorted. Demographic Polls. Exit Polls. Surveys of Married White Women, Single White Women, Black Men Who Wear Bifocals and Left-Handed Thirty-Something’s. Enough with the projections! It was recently reported that there was more polls taken in the last three months than in the entire 2004 election combined. I believe it.
8. There ARE two Americas — As much as some disavow that concept and think it breeds divisiveness, there is a growing divide between voters. I tend to see it as a philosophical divide between Relativists and Absolutists. The political Left tend to be relativists who believe there is no God, that morals are not absolute, and that society must change and adapt to shifting values. The political Right typically believe in a God from Whom absolutes emanate, they are old school cultural conservatives. So yes, Virginia, there is a culture war.
9. We put far too much emphasis upon politics to change society — The passion people have for a candidate or a political cause indicates how important we believe politics are to shaping culture. It’s like we have all our eggs in this basket. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that politics are not important, but that other things shape our country as much, if not more, than politics. The home, the church, and the school are three institutions more powerful than the three branches of American government. Perhaps if we spent more energy are bettering our homes, churches and schools, we’d be less hysterical when an election rolls around.
10. The Republican Party needs an overhaul — If anything, this election has revealed how culturally, technologically, and philosophically out-of-touch the GOP has become. Furthermore, I believe the Republican Party, in an attempt to reach the middle, has drifted from its conservative ideological roots. Hopefully, by next election, they’ll have figured out what they’re really about… but I ain’t holding my breath.

No, I’m not a gloom and doomer. America has survived many hard times and bad presidents. And we’ll continue to do so. But, like you, I’m really glad Election ’08 is history.