Resources for Election Day
“The time has come, God knows, for us to examine ourselves, but we can only do this if we are willing to free ourselves of the myth of America and try to find out what is really happening here.”–James Baldwin
An essential regard for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness lies at the root of the ongoing discussion here on Soul Shelter. Our search for — and our readers’ search for — ways to “balance fortune and fulfillment” is really a continuing inquiry into those ideal humanist values that seeded the American founders’ dream in Philadelphia some 230 years ago.
Now, in a mere eight days, we contemporary Americans will cast our ballots in the most suspenseful and consequential election in generations. It is, as I think we all recognize, a decisive historical moment. As such, it requires each of us to fulfill our duty as reasonable, informed, and free U.S. citizens, and weigh the merits and demerits of both presidential candidates in a manner beyond whatever our political reflex may be, beyond party lines — and beyond the influence of partisan case-making (in this instance, too, it is every bit as important to weigh the merits and demerits of the vice-presidential candidates). I believe if we do this, the better leader is sure to win, and despite the crises confronting us, our country is sure to benefit from his presence in the White House.
Unlearned views … are perhaps the more confident in proportion as they are less enlightened.
So cautioned Thomas Jefferson back in 1807. Heeding his warning, I’ve aimed to be a well-informed voter and not merely a smugly confident one. I cannot let Election Day pass without sharing several good resources I’m consulting in an effort to mark my ballot with the most reasoned and responsible vote for my country.
As prologue, here’s a quick summary of how I will employ the following resources to make my decision. My vote will favor the presidential ticket that has: a) the smartest, most rational and humane arguments; b) a predominance of facts to support its views and positions; c) the most apparent reluctance to “trim” facts or manipulate my opinion with purely emotional appeals. A ticket meeting these criteria is bound to provide the soundest leadership.
1. Tips for Discerning the Smartest Political Argument
Over at On Simplicity a few weeks back, blogger Sara provided a solid methodology for
cutting through sound bytes to examine a political position logically and effectively. It’s a suitably simple approach, and one all too easily lost amid political chatter. A few of Sara’s best points:
- Are there any holes in the logic here?
- What’s the other side of the story?
- Are there any facts that support this idea? Are those facts being ignored? Misrepresented? Or are they incorporated usefully?
- Is this argument based on fact and philosophy or emotion?
- What does the opposition have to say?
In the final days before the election, I would amend Sara’s superb points with just the following slightly more explicit ones:
- Am I getting the whole story or quote, or just a snippet? Where can I find the whole story?
- What is this ad/assertion/media story encouraging most: fear or reason?
2. FactCheck.org
“Facts are stubborn things,” said John Adams in 1770. Adams was a passionate apostle for a government of laws not men — a political conviction that suffuses the Declaration of Independence. “Whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion,” Adams said, “they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
The impressive website FactCheck.org operates on that same principle. I explore the site regularly. Its lively but stubbornly rational analyses of the many “facts” and figures thrown around in political debate (tax brackets, budget numbers, senatorial voting records) always strike me as weirdly, well … beautiful. Yep, real non-partisan analysis can be a lovely thing, for it can prove that despite the flinch-votes of some Americans (be it a flinch of fear, faith, or party affiliation), and despite the tacit political endorsements in much media jabber, a reasoned American respect for fact and history survives. By its own description, FactCheck.org
aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.
3. George Orwell’s “Politics & the English Language”
I last read Orwell’s marvelous essay in those shaky, violent, bombastic days surrounding September 11, 2001. In the face of the endless swirl of political discussion surrounding us in the lead-up to the election, I’m revisiting it. With a scalpel’s precision, the essay cuts away the manipulative verbiage of political-speak, and decodes its real meaning — or lack thereof.
A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. …
If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step towards political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers. …
Defenseless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called “Pacification.” Millions of peasants are robbed of their farms and sent trudging along the roads with no more than they can carry: this is called “Transfer of Population” or “Rectification of Frontiers.” People are imprisoned for years without trial, or shot in the back of the neck or sent to die of scurvy in Arctic lumber camps: this is called “Elimination of Unreliable Elements.”
4. A Definition of Patriotism
Whether you’re leaning toward or away from a vote for Barack Obama, his non-politicized but stirring speech on the subject of American patriotism, delivered in Independence, Missouri back in June, deserves the attention of all Americans. Read it here.
To conclude, I’ll balance today’s emphasis on fact and reason with a second resonant quote from the great writer James Baldwin, from his essay “The Discovery of What it Means to be an American“:
Though we do not wholly believe it yet, the interior life is a real life, and the intangible dreams of people have a tangible effect on the world.
You might also enjoy:
“Looking Deeply, Proceeding On”
4 Comments to Resources for Election Day
As election day grows closer, people all over the U. S. are becoming anxious. It has become increasingly difficult to escape very STRONG opinions for one candidate or the other – pretty much everywhere I go. When I first saw the title of this post, I thought, “Uh oh. Not Soul Shelter too!” I am glad I kept reading. This is one of the BEST articles I have seen on the subject. It is SO important for people to research and learn and take into consideration all of the facts. Throughout this election, I have also been more about urging people to consider the facts then vote for the one they feel will be best for them. It is very refreshing to read an article that doesn’t tell people who to vote for or badmouth anyone, but encourages us to get the facts and just vote. Thank you!
@Chic Financials: Thanks for the encouraging comment — and for not stopping at the post title! This presidential campaign has been described as the longest in history, and the resulting overabundance of political discussion and debate has had, I think, the happy effect of enriching trans-party-line political dialogue in this country. In the face of such a long political contest, the old-fashioned polemical “I’M-VOTING-FOR-HIM-THEREFORE-YOU-SHOULD-TOO” approach begins to look as absurd as it really is. Equally and just as obviously absurd is disrespectful partisan jabber, which can be nothing more than preachments to one’s choir.
If there are staunchly partisan voters on both sides still slapping their heads at what they see as the shortsightedness of those not joining their particular political soiree, I believe these partisans cause themselves useless pains, for “noble indignation” is not enough to change minds. They might save their own brows some bruising and simply encourage, above all, an open-minded examination of both candidates’ claims and whether or not a factual basis exists to support these.
Personally, after inquiring into the positions of both tickets, as I recommend in this post, and after examining which of the campaigns shows the lesser inclination toward faulty facts and manipulative tactics, I believe that the best presidential candidate is strikingly obvious. I’m confident that anyone who looks objectively at both sides cannot fail to recognize the man as well.
But what use would there be in proclaiming my choice? The most productive and compelling method of persuasion will always be an appeal to reason, rather than a collision of biases (provided, of course, that you’re talking to a reasonable person).
Thanks for reading Soul Shelter.
~Mark
To your great list of resources and books, I would add The Federalist Papers. Truth to be told, vigorous, reasoned debate has been with us since the founding of the union. I think our problem today is that reason, on both sides of the political spectrum, has given way to naked self-centeredness, an ill-founded belief in personal entitlement, and such vicious character attacks as to render relationship building nearly impossible. May we move closer to “a more perfect union” no matter who wins the election, for no single leader can fix the mess we have put ourselves in. Our national fragmentation can only be addressed one broken relationship at a time.
@Hank: Well said. Restoring the tradition of true democratic dialogue that gave rise to this nation must be our goal. Our red and blue tinted lenses, unlike the old 3-D kind, have flattened our image of the world, and show us only a gross parody of a healthy, forward-moving society. And true, while the in-coming President would do well to model genuine interest in vibrant and respectful debate befitting a thriving democracy, such a back-to-basics movement can only take hold down among the demos themelves.
The recent John Adams miniseries by HBO, a very respectable production, provides a dramatic sense of the reasoned debate that got us started as a nation.
Thanks for mentioning The Federalist Papers. Here’s a good place to see them online, though like most matters of substance they are probably best read in the form of a tangible book. ~Mark