Treating politics like a game to be won versus a means of improving the world has left America stuck in a perpetual cycle of anxiety and maddening strategizing, while robbing us of hope of a better future.
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A lot of this has to do with the pulling back of the curtain of governing and an obsession with palace intrigue and meta-narrative. Pundits now critique politics like media critics, assigning importantance to “the electorate,” a viewership that reflects their own beliefs.
The simple truth is that we don’t have to live this way. We can reject the zero-sum battles of Trump and Republicans and advocate for visions of a fairer, more humane future. “Electability” simply isn’t real. It’s a postmodern concept that’s about perception than it is reality.
We’re endlessly lost in media narratives and predicting future outcomes as a means of consuming narrative. We can just support candidates we believe in and leave the rest to the process. But the media is fueled by uncertainty and anxiety, meaning we have to play a dangerous game.
But the truth is, the more we more ourselves in politics as a game the more we’re submerged in Trumpism. Yes, it’s a war for power, but we can also reject that framing and restore politics to what it’s meant to be: a process by which we make a better, fairer future.
