I have been wondering awhile now about why voters embrace
one political party and reject another. You might instinctively assume that a
voter would vote for the person who most agrees with the voter’s beliefs and
principles, but I dare say that you would very often be mistaken. I have talked with way too many people who
agree with me on some pretty important stuff—like “The federal government is
way too intrusive in our personal lives”; “The government needs to stop wasting
so much money”; “Taxes are too high”, and “I am opposed to abortion”. Yet, when
they vote, they vote for someone who is guaranteed to work against everything
that voter says he or she believes in. You probably know who I am talking
about—friends and family members who make you want to pull your hair out when
it comes to politics. Sometimes I think I would rather not know how obviously
crazy those individuals are, so I could sleep better at night. But still I wonder what is going on in their
heads, or, what is not going on in their heads.
I totally understand
why I vote the way I do. It is because the man or woman for whom I vote has led
me to believe, rightly or wrongly, that he or she comes the closest to agreeing
with my beliefs and principles. I cannot
divorce myself from a desire to vote for someone who is as much like me as
possible. I also want to vote for someone who is as good a person—hopefully,
even better—as good and honest as I am.
I hate to hear people say, “They all do it”, when some political figure
does something immoral or dishonorable.
For example, in my mind, a person running for the office of President of
the United State of America, should be a person who exudes virtue and morality
and holds himself or herself to a higher standard. After all, they will be
filling the position that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln have held.
Granted, George and Abe are no longer with us and it may be a little hard to
find their like today, but we should at least try to put some thought and
prayer into such an important vote. We should at least devote some time in
doing our homework on these people.
Now, if you believe in communism or really big-brother-government
or Keynesian economics, I understand where you are coming from. And I
understand why you vote for the man or woman who comes the closest to agreeing
with your belief system. You are an
ideologue and I am an ideologue, and we will always be in each other’s face,
but—getting back to the point of why voters embrace one person over another or
one party over another –why do so many of us vote contrary to our beliefs?
The answer, I think, is that they have associated themselves
with a brand. I have written before
about my father being a die-hard Democrat. His mantra was “Republicans are for the rich
man and the Democrats are for the working man”. I can also say that he was a die-hard Chevy-owner.
He was also a die-hard fan of the Saint Louis Cardinals in the National League
and whichever team was in Kansas City ( Athletics or Royals) at the time. Though he was a FDR, Truman and Kennedy man,
I am pretty sure he liked Ike—Ike was his commanding officer when he fought in
the war, so he could break with one favorite team for an opposing favorite
team, like the dilemma he would have had lived to see the Freeway World Series
between the Cardinals and the Royals .
He could probably only be persuaded to vote Republican if there was an
important emotional connection like he would have had with Eisenhower. And, as most sports true fans are, he was a
fan of his teams even when they were not very good.
I have to admit that we all fall into that category when it
comes to sports. I root for the Royals,
the Jayhawks, The Chiefs and the Jazz, even when they are stinking it up. Gratefully
the Jayhawks are looking good again this year. And likewise, I detest the teams
who may perennially beat my teams.
Because I grew up in a family who drove Chevys, I tended to prefer them
myself. I see that kind of fanaticism
all over. Who has not seen a decal of a Calvin-like little boy urinating on a Chevy
or Ford logo? I can safely say that there have been some good and bad years for
about every make of automobile, but still people have their biases. Everybody
can find something that he prefers because it is their favorite brand, even if
there is substantially no difference in the product. Some people like Levis
while others prefer Wranglers. And, it may not matter the monetary cost to the
real fan. They are willing to pay a little more for the product because it is
their brand. You might remember back when Coca-Cola tried to introduce “New
Coke”. The Coke Company had done a bunch
of blind tests where the cola drinkers picked the drink that they liked best.
They found that the taste testers more often preferred the Pepsi-Cola product.
So, Coke decided to produce New Coke, which tasted more like Pepsi. Well, Coke
fans went crazy and the Coca-Cola Company went back to what their fans wanted. I
was happy with Pepsi either way.
In essence, this phenomenon of fanatical behavior—that is
where the term “Fan” comes from—gives me some insight into why some people vote
against their interest. For whatever reason—they were raised a Democrat, or
Republican or Catholic, or Baptist and they refuse to give up their brand, even
if it kills them, because it would cause their mother or father to roll over in
their graves—they have become fixated by the brand. I have heard people respond to me, when I ask
them why they are going to vote for a Democrat, even when they know that it is
a bad choice, that they just can’t pull the lever for a Republican. This is precisely what I think is happening
with many of the voters in America. They are not really doing their homework on
the issues or the leadership qualities of the candidate, or thinking seriously
about what they are buying with their votes.
When the time comes, they roll out of bed and pull the lever for their
traditional brand, even though that brand now may not be as good as they
remember it to be back in the day. Even when it looks to them like a Ford might
be a better by than a Chevy in a particular year, they just cannot write the
check for the Ford. Or they just cannot make themselves wear a pair of
wranglers, no matter the fit or the price, because they would feel that they
had been untrue to their team. And, what would their friends say? Well, I have
a pretty good idea what I would say. I would say, “Pull your stupid head out”! “You
thought you were buying a Ford Continental but you are driving around in an old
Ford Pinto with a gas tank ready to explode when the inevitable rear-end crash
comes!” And, If you keep this crap up, I guess I will keep beating my head
against the wall in frustration. But, I
would say it in a friendly and loving way.
