Biden just did it: For better communication, what do you call authoritarianism in a few words? Biden just did it. update 4/25/2023 Joe Biden confirms 2024 re-election bid in video announcement - Bing video He put democracy on the ballot as an implied contrast with the dark, anti-democratic Trump. He defined what democracy is in terms of personal freedoms and then showed how he was protecting them now and in the future. It is a context into which so many issues fit, women's choice, voter suppression, a priority of the middle-class well-being, of student debt, Ukraine, and more.
The next Biden task should be to link the issue of personal freedoms to the economy and economic well-being of those who benefit from personal freedoms. The two easiest, of course, are women's rights to control their reproductive schedules and health in the abortion issue. Women cannot go to work if they are always"barefoot and pregnant" and earn the money they need to help maintain their family's standard of living. It is particularly difficult when women earn less than men for the same work and doubly difficult if racism interjects the ability to earn equal pay. Equal rights have serious economic implications. Voter suppression speaks to the loss of political power, which cripples the rights of access for those who need public policies to give them a leg up. Student debt is the millstone around my flock of grandkids' necks setting back for years their ability to be able to have the freedom and independence to support their families. Preservation of democracy is what Ukraine is all about, theirs and ours. It is in a way a far lower-cost proxy war than what full confrontation with Russia would cost us in the Baltics and Poland as we protect our own national security interests. Yes, gas prices are high, but a stitch in time saves nine.
From my April 21, 2023 posting: So what is this "democracy" for which so many died? What is "freedom" we claim to want and protect? The American style of democracy means that those who are not the majority still have rights that give them hope they can eventually be the majority, too. Diversity is the real enemy of wannabe tyrants, especially if those in the minority still have rights, the rule of law still rules, and the ability to be heard remains in place. That is good news for the US. Those who are in the minority still have rights since the rule of laws protecting them is upheld by the judicial system. It also bodes ill for a vocal minority that supports policies that are wildly unpopular but is attempting to force the majority to accept them, such as extreme anti-abortion laws and ignoring gun safety measures.
It seems unbelievable we need to make the case for democracy in order to contrast it with the anti-democracy alternatives. However, in every generation, the case for democracy needs to be dusted off and rephrased because so many have forgotten how it benefits them. Even with its failures to live up to the idealism of our founders, we can still strive for this more perfect union so long as small d democracy survives.
My own case for democracy is based on the reason for the American Revolution and the ability to be free to pursue life and happiness in a country treated with consideration and fairness even those they oppose. This is the way to live in a stable, tranquil society with the hope staying alive the future can be better. So long as that hope lives, so will democracy.
The best slogan so far is to position this current war of words and media as democracy versus anti-democracy in the context of "democracy is on the ballot". In the 2022 midterms, it appears democracy was on the ballot, and its support had gained traction. Voters got the memo. It was almost as much a factor as abortion in offsetting the economic distress people were feeling that contributed to the surprise showing of GOP failures. . https://news.syr.edu/blog/2022/12/01/democracy-was-on-the-ballot-candidates-matter-and-other-lessons-from-the-midterm-elections/
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