Many Americans are losing hope, even more so during the Trump administration. His chaos presidency appears to give one nothing to hold on to at all. Don’t despair.
Trump cauterized the belief in many that they just exist in this society with no recourse to get their wants and desires effectuated. And that is the intent of the plutocracy.
The structures of this country were never designed to have one person one vote. It was intended to keep a select few in power irrespective of the wants of the masses. Remember in the country’s infancy, only property-owning white men could vote. Freedom was conditional on wealth, race, and gender.
As the country matured, activists slowly demanded equity. Theoretically, every adult citizen had the right to vote. The problem is that every vote isn’t equal. Both California and Wyoming get two Senators a piece. The 582,658 people in Wyoming have the same voting power in the Senate as California’s 38,332,521 people. In other words, one voter in Wyoming is equivalent to 65.79 California voters.
The House of Representatives presents a similar nondemocratic arrangement. Gerrymandering gave Republicans a numerical advantage not commensurate with the number of votes they received. Democrats won 48.9% of the votes in Congress but control just 44.6 of the seats.
President Trump lost the popular vote by around 3 million voters. Because all votes are not equal, he is the president.
So is the system so rigged that even if Democrats win the minds of most Americans, they remain at a disadvantage? The short answer is yes. The long answer is that it does not have to be that way.
The progressive base is very activated. Groups like Indivisible and Our Revolution are working hard to keep people engaged with their politicians, even as they field more progressive candidates. The biggest fear is that many will look at the built-in voter bias in our elections, throw their hands into the air and give up.
Even within our structurally corrupt voting schema, we can make a difference without losing hope. You see, while the voting process is rigged, and with voter suppression throughout the country even more so, what’s still in play is one’s mind as well as the persuasive power of trained activists.
Those who know what is right must remain engaged. They must not lose hope but instead get some training and political time from one or more of the organizations set up specifically to move the country forward (Indivisible, Our Revolution, Daily Kos, Coffee Party USA, and others). After winning, we will work towards democratizing the vote.
Are you ready to get engaged?
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