The following is an opinion contribution and reflects the author’s views alone.
In late September, I received a package I had ordered from Glossier, a popular cosmetic and skincare magazine with a young consumer base. In addition to the products I had purchased, I found a sticker at the bottom of the bag. It said, “I will vote,” underneath a smiley face with three eyes. Though the message to vote was nothing new, I was especially taken aback. Far from the bubbly pink and positive aesthetic of the brand, I felt that these three words, “I will vote,” were almost a threat. I was unsettled by the feeling that I could not escape the push to vote and that a company I patronized was now telling me how I ought to act. In the following weeks, I was continuously bombarded with messages to vote from voices ranging from celebrities’ instagram captions to a preceptor beginning class with this message.
For people who are passionate about politics and enthusiastic about voting, these inescapable pushes to vote come as positive reinforcement for their beliefs and values regarding civic engagement. More specifically, the push to vote this election cycle is being directed towards young people. Given the fact that young people tend to be more liberal, and that higher voter turnout significantly helps the Democratic Party, I can’t help but feel, with good reason, that “Go vote,” really means “Go vote blue.” As a young person who just turned 18, I feel particularly targeted by these messages.
But more troubling than the widespread push to vote, is the issue of voter shaming, or rather non-voter shaming. I’ve seen my peers and social media influencers post things like, “Imagine not voting, can’t be me.” Those who call out this trend and perhaps find humor in it are humiliated and publicly shamed. For example, Chris Pratt, an actor, posted on instagram, “With all that’s going on in the world it is more important than ever that you vote, Just ask any celebrity. They will tell you. Every day. Several times a day. To vote. But me? I will tell you EXACTLY who to vote for.” He proceeded to promote his film, Onward, asking his followers to vote it for family movie of the year at the 2020 People’s Choice Awards. Pratt came under fire for this comment, with instagram responses calling his post insensitive and tone deaf considering the importance of the upcoming election.
It’s hardly a surprise that politics has become deeply personal and affected people’s relationships. Politics have permeated all spheres of life, from entertainment, to sports, to fashion, to education. There is no apolitical sphere anymore, and people feel entitled to judge others based on their political beliefs and on whether or not one votes.
I often think of the quote from Thomas Jefferson, “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” These sentiments are no longer shared by much of society. I learned that hard way when I was accused of befriending “racist, sexist, homophobic” Trump supporters after sharing a post advocating for pluralism and political tolerance.
Though politics is important, it is not and cannot be everything. How can we ask people to focus on the big picture politics and commit time to research their presidential preferences when Americans face daily conflicts and struggles, especially during the COVID pandemic? Besides the pandemic, there are many understandable reasons why one may choose not to vote. One of them, as was the most popular reason in the 2016 election, is because people do not like either candidate.
To those who argue that voting is an exercise in choosing the lesser of two evils, why are we forced to choose at all? Voting for a candidate is directly supporting that candidate, and pressuring people to actively support a candidate they don’t believe is not productive for our democracy. 60 percent of Americans believe we need a third party, as many citizens feel neither party represents them, according to a 2020 poll conducted by The Hill, a Washington DC newspaper, and HarrisX, a market research company. We should be focused on changing the two party system, rather than on solidifying it and silencing the voices of independent and nonpartisan voters through shame.
In addition, voting comes with responsibility. Our democracy works when the voting citizens are educated about the issues and the platforms of the candidates. This takes time and energy that some people just can’t afford to give, especially during the COVID crisis. America is experiencing a mental health crisis, from high rates of unemployment and the general uncertainty of the future worsened by the divisive and volatile 2020 election. Already in January, One Medical, a primary care service, reported on its blog that based on an American Psychological Association study, “69 percent of Americans say the future of our nation is a significant source of stress, and 62 percent say they are stressed by the current political climate. Researchers also found that the upcoming political election is causing more stress than the 2016 election.” The blog also quoted a University of Nebraska-Lincoln study as finding that, “one in five Americans are sleepless or have had friendships damaged over politics.” Given the current widespread mental health woes, and the time and energy needed to make an informed decision, it is irresponsible to push people to vote when they are unable to do so or when they do not want to educate themselves about politics. People casting random, uninformed votes are less productive for democracy than having lower voter turnout rates.
Finally, maintaining apolitical spheres is important since politics is undoubtedly divisive. If we are bombarded with partisan politics and forced to stay in the political loop, we risk losing the unity of the country. We need spaces where people can be comfortable being apolitical, not voting, and just living as Americans.
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