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People are voting early in record numbers in the United States. Many Republicans and Independents are joining with Democrats, seeking to keep democracy alive.
Whether these vigorous, eleventh-hour efforts defeat the autocrat-extremists will soon be known.
Some mainstream media continue to assert that the candidates' "campaigns now turn on a small set of national issues–this year primarily the cost of living, abortion and the border."[1] The writer of this comment seems oblivious to the vows of wannabe-dictators to strip away more freedoms.
In "this year" such journalism says little to anyone who believes it's good to live in a representative republic. However, the comment does offer two useful clues on what to emphasize in the closing days of this consequential election campaign.
Firstly, voters need to be presented with emotional reasons to both feel and believe a candidate will make groceries, fuel, and everyday purchases cheaper. And it's of declining value to keep banging out ambitious pledges about "price gouging" or tax incentives.
Anyone overdrawn on credit has needs right now–like a roof overhead and food for the kids. It's time to specifically and convincingly illustrate what's being done and what more will be done to cut the cost of groceries and other necessities immediately–not weeks, months, or years away!
Secondly, very large numbers of people probably vote according to the projected image of a political figure. But if all an opponent's faults highlighted during almost ten years haven't moved the needle against electability, why expect this approach to work during the less than ten days remaining?[2]
Many of us want to vote for a candidate, not against someone! Repeated illustration of an opponent's graft has to hit home to how badly this harms us. Unfortunately "the United States, as well as some other nations, too often elect accused criminals to public office–despite vigorous commentary on the candidate's alleged criminality"[3] or immorality.
In the closing days of any election campaign, it's a serious challenge to promote truth, law, and justice. By this time, public discourse is a mash of snappy truthiness and outrage. And election news is frequently thought to be propaganda. Election campaigns certainly amplify propaganda processes, to provoke "action without prior thought."[4]
As Randal Marlin notes, it was Jacques Ellul who alerted to the necessity for "liberal government to offset seditious ideas from within the state or... [use] propaganda to offset other states seeking conquest over one's own state. But he recognizes that once a state begins to engage seriously in propaganda, it erodes its own claim to being liberal."[5]
We must be careful about this inherent danger of propaganda. And we need to elect sincere leaders, who are equipped to remedy the serious harm autocrat-propagandists cause us.
References
1. David Lauter (2024), "All Politics Are Local? Not in This Election," Los Angeles Times, October 12, https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2024-10-12/all-politics-is-local-not-this-year-politics
2. David Brooks (2018), “Opinion: The Failures of Anti-Trumpism,” The New York Times, April 10, p. 27; Rodney G. Miller (2024), Get Ahead of Propagandists: Countering Disinformation, Albany, NY: Parula, p. 55; also at: Word to the Wise blog (2024), "Going Forward," February 4,
https://communicator.rodney-miller.com/2024/02/going-forward.html;
Tim Ward (2024), "To Defeat Trump, Don't Focus on Trump. Wise Advice from An Unlikely Source," Medium - The Political Prism, online newsletter, October 24, https://medium.com/the-political-prism/to-defeat-trump-dont-focus-on-trump-9e7fdcd5eca9
3. Miller, p. 24; also at: Word to the Wise blog (2024), "Neutralizing Propaganda," January 10, https://communicator.rodney-miller.com/2024/01/neutralizing-propaganda.html
4. Jacques Ellul (1962), Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, New York: Knopf, p. 240
5. Randal Marlin (2021), "Dynamic Tension for Pandemic Times," Current Drift, 10 May, IJES Ellul Society, https://ellul.org/current-drift/dynamic-tension-for-pandemic-times/; also at: Word to the Wise blog (2021), June 10, https://communicator.rodney-miller.com/search?q=clash