A few thoughts on why politics is like a sport
And shouldn’t be. Plus links on: why politics really is like curling, why you may worry about what’s coming up, and a web site that’s a primer on what the federal government really does.
Think political news is like ESPN? And people react like it’s a sports contest? You’re right, and it’s wrong for our country. This is why.
Psychologists have an acronym to describe a mental error called BIRG: Basking in Reflected Glory.
Others wallow in despair and look for blame: CORF, or Cutting off Reflected Failure.
Neither reaction seems healthy to me, or for a liberal democracy. Hitching our happiness and self-esteem to other people who are winners is a sure way to be unhappy.
BIRG is when we’re wearing our team jerseys and strutting around after our team wins, especially if it’s the Super Bowl or World Series. We feel great! And we had nothing at all to do with the team’s success (admit it: sports is just entertainment, like a good symphony, a good play, or a good rock concert).
Likewise, losing an election — whether your side actually was in the minority or you lost because our Electoral College or gerrymandered districts caused a fluky result — doesn’t mean you are a lesser person than those who voted for the winner. It just means others have a different opinion and the rules of democracy aren’t always productive.
History has proven that often the minority is on the right side.
Remember slavery? Jim Crow? Indian Boarding Schools? Suffrage?
The majority, or at least those in power, was wrong on all those issues.
Democracy means you get to think for yourself
Further, we live in a liberal democracy (note the small “l”). That means we all are responsible to think for ourselves, and make up our own minds about what we believe is ethical and positive. The majority, or a manipulated minority, may rule, but that doesn’t have to rule your own mind. Your church leaders may endorse authoritarianism, but you don’t have to. Your friends may want to shout down conservatives, but you don’t have to.
You’re in good company. Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali condemned the Vietnam War and lost the support of their close friends and professional allies. People in Nazi Germany lost their lives opposing Hitler. Liz Cheney was voted out of office. Jesus Christ was crucified.
So politically, stand your ground. Think about what’s being done, not who is doing it. Don’t let the other side rent space in your head.
That’s what authoritarians, dictators, and “strong” men want to do. They don’t want you to think for yourself.
Resistance is in country’s DNA. A few of the Founders stood up to groupthink, even as most gave in to slaveholders and religious tyrants. They at least limited the federal government’s power and, after a bloody Civil War, limited the states’ powers too, however haltingly.
The philosophy is there, too. What is more American than Emerson and Thoreau, than the Transcendentalists who urged us to be true to our own beliefs and morals? Than the scientists - Einstein included - who resisted the Red Scares? Than the Jehovah Witnesses who stood up for their right to refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance?
Don’t let the fanatics ruin you life
And finally, take solace in the fact that for the most part, we get along. A lot of sociologists have been studied the much ballyhooed political divide, about how so many of us don’t want our kids to marry someone from the other party.
A few sociologists have asked the next question: What if that that someone from the other party didn’t talk about politics all the time? The answer: OK. As long as my kid is happy! It’s the fanatics that bug us, not those who just have a different way of looking at life.
An old thing in politics has been amplified in our new social media world. A small but active minority spend all their time watching cable television and surfing the web of their choice, and that choice is filled with people who cater to their reptile brains and reinforce whatever base emotion they have. Their lives are unsatisfying and they try to make them satisfying by being part of a team or, in the case of many Trump supporters, a mob. Politicians have followed; those who appeal to Lincoln’s “better angels” are being driven from politics, especially from the GOP.
They aren’t the majority, so far, and I doubt they ever will be. (Feel free to cut them out of your life. They deserve to feel lonely).
We can all play a part by getting out in the world and out away from our smallest circles and getting to know each other. Travel the country and find out-of-the-way places to get to know other people. Feel free to display something that lets them know your political preference, and be nice. Let them know you care about their kids and their freedom. Let them know you want them to be happy and prosperous, too.
As one political scientist I read once put it so well: Americans want their government to make it so we can enjoy ourselves, and then get out of our lives. Seems to me that’s a good starting point.
Here are a few other pieces I think worth reading:
David French is a conservative columnist and, therefore, a never-Trumper, with the NYT. He’s worth following but if you feel down about the election results, he points out here that elections are like curling. True! The rock is sliding down the ice and a bunch of consultants and pundits think they’re making a difference by sweeping madly but really they’re just changing the trajectory a tiny bit. The rock in play this election was overwhelmingly against Harris and the Democrats, through no fault of theirs.
On the other hand, let’s worry. Another piece by conservatives (and therefore, … well, you know), reports on a simulation of how Trump may do away with democracy. It isn’t optimistic, but you can read about some ways to resist.
Here is the U.S. Government Manual. You’ll see a lot of stuff coming out about what Trump is doing and a lot of hot air from political reporters about gamesmanship. Go to this site to start finding out what our government really does.
Good words Craig made my day thank you. Janice