Good day to everyone, and welcome back to The Triple Double Special Election 2020 edition, aptly titled “Soul of the Nation.”
I know that I retired the column a few months back, and I was serious about it. But after being asked to speak my piece on what was the most exhausting and emotionally wrenching election in America’s history, it was time to come off the bench for one last run up the court.
In case why you are wondering why I titled the column “Soul of the Nation,” read to the end. By the time you finish, you’ll either end up in one of two mindsets: ready to go to work or denial. I wish I could tell you there was a middle ground, but I would be lying to you if I said there was. And if you’ve followed my work, I’m not about that life. So let’s take off our warm-up attire and start running.
KAMALA HARRIS – HISTORY MAKER
As a father to two mixed children, I’m going to take my time and be proud for a moment of what this country has just managed to achieve.
In my lifetime, we have not only managed to vote in a Black man as president, but now we have elected the first-ever female and Black AND South Asian vice-president-elect in Sen. Kamala Harris (Dem – CA). To say that this is not a great moment in American history would be an understatement. And before you get all politically correct, yes, I am aware of her record as Attorney General of California (more on that in the second part).
An Oakland, CA native whose parents came from India and Jamaica, Harris first tried her hand as a presidential candidate late last year before Biden was chosen as the Democratic candidate. Yet, her history as a prosecutor known for tough questioning stood out in the early debates – especially in her back and forth interactions with the now President-elect. It was that tenacity that drew Biden’s attention and drove him to select her as his running mate. Isn’t it interesting how people with completely different points of view can somehow find common ground to co-exist and work for the greater good of the people? (Yes, I’m looking directly at you, Unites States Congress).
In Harris’s speech Saturday, she sent a clear message to ladies not just in America but across the world – a speech that I hope to share with my daughters soon so that they, too, can see with determination, hard work, and a can-do spirit, anything is possible.
“And to the woman most responsible for my presence here today — my mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who is always in our hearts. When she came here from India at the age of 19, maybe she didn’t quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible,” Harris said before continuing.
“So, I’m thinking about her and about the generations of women — Black Women. Asian, White, Latina, and Native American women throughout our nation’s history who have paved the way for this moment tonight. Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality, liberty, and justice for all, including the Black women, who are too often overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy. All the women who worked to secure and protect the right to vote for over a century: 100 years ago with the 19th Amendment, 55 years ago with the Voting Rights Act, and now, in 2020, with a new generation of women in our country who cast their ballots and continued the fight for their fundamental right to vote and be heard.”
The most admiring part of this speech – and what ultimately made me reflect on why I voted – was her anecdote about the children of this country and why they are our future.
“But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before. And we will applaud you every step of the way.”
That statement right there – that is what a leader should sound like. That is something anyone can hear and gain inspiration. That statement is a clear vision of what our kids need to hear every day. For that, Mrs. Harris, thank you.
BIDEN AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AREN’T DONE YET
I’m not sure if anyone read my article about Ice Cube’s role in President Donald Trump’s “Platinum Plan,” but if you didn’t, then you missed a significant highlight in that article that will help you understand what I’m about to say now:
“Again, I’m not going to say that Ice Cube is in the wrong – his intentions were good, and I feel like he has made an honest effort to put upfront the plight of Black America. However, the issue at hand isn’t about working with who is in power – the bigger problem is who that power is. And when that power has spent their entire life denigrating the existence of Blacks, they don’t get to sit and pretend they are our friends when it is beneficial.”
The Black vote made the biggest difference in cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Philadelphia -cities that single-handedly delivered the election to President-elect Joe Biden in their respective states. Before the election, Ice Cube had reached out to both the Democratic and Republican parties to discuss his Contract for Black America; the former said to come back, and we can discuss this after the election.
News flash: the election is over. The Black people spoke and decided you were worth giving a chance to prove you would listen to us. That time…it’s here.
In an NPR article from October, they highlighted Biden’s history in regards to racial division – one that showed him trying to appease both sides with mixed results. The biggest glaring example is the 1994 Crime Bill that then-President Bill Clinton signed off on, which Biden himself called the “Biden crime bill.” Those who defended Biden on that pointed out that not only did he oppose the prison spending that was added onto the bill but that many Black lawmakers signed onto it as well, including Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, though he himself has acknowledged that the bill has “unintended consequences” (the majority of people imprisoned are disproportionately Black).
In recent years, the Black community has leaned more toward forgiving Biden primarily due to his service as vice president to Barack Obama – where Biden showed a willingness to work alongside a Black man and did so without trying to make it about himself. And his proposed crime plan shows that he recognizes the errors of the current plan in place and wants to do away with the racial disparity in our prisons. That being said, this is just the beginning of what will be a long road not just for Biden but also for the party.
The party cannot forget about the progressive votes that got Biden elected as well. All the talk right now coming from current and former members of Congress and the House of Representatives about how they won on the centrist ideal…bullshit. As mentioned above, it was Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, and a huge swath of the younger generation who turned out in record numbers to make sure their voice was heard. Yet, it was Republican John Kasich, who ran against Trump in 2016 unsuccessfully, that rang out as the first voice as soon as Biden won to criticize what he calls the “far-left.” In an article published by The Nation, Kasich was noted as saying the following:
“The best thing that’s happened to Joe Biden is the fact that the United States Senate is either going to be Republican or very close,” said Kasich, who is reportedly angling for a cabinet post. “And the far left can push him as hard as they want. And frankly, the Democrats have to make it clear to the far left that they almost cost him this election.”
Many veteran politicians view that angling with centrist Republicans like Kasich is what gave Biden the momentum needed to swing Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been very outspoken about her views on blaming progressives, spoke to the New York Times about how she felt and what would likely happen if the Biden administration tuned them out:
“Well, I’d be bummed, because we’re going to lose. And that’s just what it is,” Ocasio-Cortez explained. “These transition appointments, they send a signal. They tell a story of who the administration credits with this victory. And so it’s going be really hard after immigrant youth activists helped potentially deliver Arizona and Nevada. It’s going to be really hard after Detroit, and Rashida Tlaib ran up the numbers in her district.”
“It’s really hard for us to turn out nonvoters when they feel like nothing changes for them. When they feel like people don’t see them or even acknowledge their turnout. If the party believes after 94 percent of Detroit went to Biden after Black organizers just doubled and tripled turnout down in Georgia, after so many people organized Philadelphia, the signal from the Democratic Party is the John Kasich’s won us this election? I mean, I can’t even describe how dangerous that is.”
She holds a valid point.
With an upcoming pair of Senate runoff elections in January, Congress’s fate is at hand. As of right now, Congress sits at a 48-48 deadlock (2 Independents – Justin Amash and Bernie Sanders); if Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff manage to win those seats, that will leave the Dems with a 50-48-2 majority and Vice President-elect Harris as a potential tie-breaker if necessary. If the establishment Dems continue to hammer on the progressive movement and essentially invalidate their contributions instead of trying to find a middle ground, that will alienate a lot of voters who would otherwise be inclined to see Mitch McConnell leave the seat of Senate Majority Leader. Everything the establishment Dems supposedly want to see come out of a Biden presidency would never come to fruition if the Republicans hold the Senate – essentially adding up to Obama in his second term all over again.
If the Democratic Party wants to stand a chance in the 2022 and 2024 elections, they will need to lean into the younger generation and truly listen to what it is they have to say. Otherwise, they risk losing support for potentially a slew of generations.
WHY THIS ELECTION HAS EXPOSED US ALL
At the beginning of the article, I said that you would understand where I was getting to by the end and as we are reaching the end, I’m going to lead with a set of questions that I’m hoping you can answer truthfully.
If your financial advisor had filed for bankruptcy multiple times, would you continue to let them handle your money?
If your daughter’s boyfriend had multiple verifiable accusations of sexual assault, would you feel comfortable with them dating?
If your best friend had been fired from a job for lying about stealing, would you vouch for them to work with you?
SPOILER ALERT: the questions should be easy enough to answer. And if the answer to those questions was anything but no, then you have summed up why America is so divided on what is morally acceptable.
Granted, everyone deserves to be given a chance to show they can change. And I absolutely agree with that. But let’s call a spade what it is – a spade. If anyone in your own family had done any one of those actions listed above (much less all three), you would likely consider them the black sheep – no invitations to the family barbecue, no loaning them money, and definitely would not want them working anywhere near your place of employment.
And yet, a troubling swath of people in America thought that this was acceptable in a Presidential candidate.
I know those same people are going to fight back with the “Bill Clinton was just as bad,” and from a moral perspective, they’re not wrong. This is why the idea of having to use that as a crutch for their argument is just as flawed. Clinton did it, so it is okay that Trump did? NO.
Before I move forward, this is where I need to be transparent: I’m not writing this as a supporter of Joe Biden or as a detractor of Donald Trump. This isn’t any sort of argument to justify one or denigrate the other: this is me expressing my concern for where this country currently stands.
Between 2008 and 2016, I had heard many an argument about “now that a Black man is the President, racism doesn’t exist.” Allow me to say this in all caps so that this is made clear: RACISM DIDN’T DIE WITH OBAMA IN OFFICE; PEOPLE ACTUALLY DOUBLED DOWN. I’ve also talked with many people that said what Clinton did was reprehensible and unbecoming of the Leader of the Free World. And yet, when given a chance to prove that we could do better than racist dog-calling and rampant sexism…we as a country didn’t just vote for it. We opened our homes to it and gave away the key.
I have friends and family who are in support of the current President. And while I may not necessarily agree with them, at least we have a common thread that allows us to co-exist even if we disagree politically: all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Those people, however, are in the minority. We’ve seen instances through the last four years where Trump supporters proudly wear shirts that call for journalists to be executed, telling Asians, Blacks, and Latino people to go back to where they came from and calling those who accused Trump of sexual assault liars and Democratic operatives. Even if that is not a majority of his base, that is still way more people that anyone should feel comfortable with who are in support of those actions.
That is what makes our actions as a country even more troubling: I’d bet good money that those same people I listed above would not allow that in their own family. Maybe it’s my pessimistic optimism speaking, but I’d like to believe that most people would not be okay with such actions. Yet we are okay with justifying said actions against others.
We are currently living in a contentious period of our existence as the “United” States of America.” 2020 has made it very clear that there are two sets of Americans: one set who wants equality for all and one set who wants equality for a selected group of people. And to be honest, from what I’ve seen over the course of the last 12 years (especially the last four), those who are in the latter have no interest whatsoever in trying to find a middle ground – which makes reconciliation impossible no matter how hard one may try.
The soul of this nation has been poisoned from within, and it has permeated so deep that it will take a serious reckoning – both internal and external – that I want to believe we are capable of making. But again, that’s just me. I can’t speak for the majority of people.
So the final question I ask of you – and take your time to think deeply about this:
What side describes you?
Thank you for giving me the floor to speak for a moment.
