I remember the 2016 election well. I started watching MSNBC coverage of the DNC and continued watching it until Election Day. I wasn’t really that into politics before this, but with the entry of Donald Trump onto the scene, it had all the makings of a dramatic reality show. For me, the defining moment of my own political foundation was listening to Michelle Obama speak at the DNC that year. She gave me hope. She made me feel proud. She painted a picture of what a fair and just government could look like. Although others I knew weren’t thrilled with Hillary, I felt she was more than qualified and that it was high time a woman hold the highest office in the land. We were far behind other countries in this regard.
I started thinking that maybe we were finally entering a new era: Democratic Party majority solidly leading American politics for decades to come. Finally things could get done as regards to health care reform (not what was finally passed by Obama but a true national health care plan covering every single American), stopping gun violence, slowing climate change, and creating an education system that ends the cycle of ignorance in our country. I truly thought that the Republicans were pretty much finished as a majority for having backed this most unethical, non-conservative candidate who was the opposite of what conservative politics have represented my entire life. It was clearly a Hail Mary move.
Some saw it coming. I was NOT one of those. When I walked in the door on election night 2016 after my last music lesson, what I immediately saw on my roommates’ faces that moment will never fade away. Shock. Horror. Disbelief. Depression would soon follow.
The Hail Mary was caught in the back corner of America’s end zone. The Republicans had won. Against all odds they did it. I don’t know if anyone was more shocked than Donald Trump. This was some crazy dream for sure. But the words I kept hearing in regards to the GOP were, “Be careful what you wish for.”
Over the next four years I struggled between being glued to the news and going on news fasts. I was fascinated at how people saw Donald Trump as presidential – as good for our country. I started to learn about the winning strategy of the alt right, targeting undecided voters in key battleground states with erroneous stories and a disinformation social media campaign designed to demonize Hillary Clinton and drive Bernie Sanders supporters away from the polls. I learned how Russia had played a key roll in this campaign as well as the hacking of the DNC, which further drove a wedge between progressives and moderate Democrats. Despite the many efforts to obstruct the investigations, the truth was made clear: Russia was there to help Trump win and likely create a greater divide in the United States of America. They continue to do the same today.
I watched tv coverage of a Trump rally one day and saw two older white males wearing identical t-shirts: “I’d rather be Russian than a Democrat.”
That was the moment I knew something deeply troubling about our country. See, I had always assumed that we were a democracy. But when one’s viewpoint is quickly becoming the minority, it requires great trust in that belief. Especially when your experience has been to marginalize, disenfranchise, demoralize and even criminalize the minorities in your world. Who would ever in their right mind voluntarily submit to rulership where you will be the minority?
I’ll tell you who. People who believe in true democracy; in the constitution; in equal rights. People who are color blind. People who see America as a place of hope; of leadership; of happiness or at least the pursuit of that dream for every single one of its people.
As we stand on the threshold of this most momentous election of 2020, please keep in mind that there remain many people in this country who do not know or believe that Democratic Party leadership can indeed bring about positive, lasting change. They’ve resigned themselves to demonizing liberals even to the point of radical conspiracy theories such as QAnon. They’ve been feeding on disinformation for years now and a steady diet of truth and reality are the only way back to sanity. No matter the results of this election, we need to set an example of what a true believer in democracy is like: exercising our freedom of speech, demonstrating our stand for equality and justice, and voting en masse to root out those opposed to democracy. That’s the thing about democracy, it always allows for the very opponents of it to be elected into office. It’s right about at this point I hear my old boss say, “You got a better idea?”
We have never been more divided as we are today, at least not in my lifetime or those of my parents or grandparents. Angry militias are ‘standing by’. Crowds of people are poised to take to the streets. Russia and others keep trying their best to do what they can to bring us ALL the way down – finally ending this experiment of democracy and proving themselves at least co-losers of the Cold War. Desperate times call for desperate measures and there seems to be no end to the interference.
Maybe we needed this experience to appreciate the true value and meaning of democracy. I for one took it for granted. Yes, this country is changing as is the whole world. But will you choose to stand solidly on the principles of democracy? Or will you listen to the desperate rantings of a minority afraid of losing control, with the help of an invisible enemy trying to settle an old score?
United we stand. Divided we fall. Country before party.
If we cannot say those words, and mean them, then it puts into question our being an American and whether we truly believe in democracy. I hope every single one of us, majority or minority, finds our way there.
Richard Adoradio is a resident of Kailua-Kona.