Taking a stand against Kane and Rhodes

Hi, I’m Tom and I am a Democrat. Wait, wasn’t I a Republican a few years back? No, maybe I was a Libertarian. Green Party? Possibly. Independent? Sometimes.

Whatever the label, I have supported candidates from all of the aforementioned political affiliations during my voting life. In fact, I cannot recall ever voting straight ticket during a general election. I typically voted for people who I believed had a chance to do right by their constituents.

However, this year might be different. The polarity in political discourse has driven a wedge between family, friends, coworkers and strangers who happen to meet on the street.

Political discourse has a long, sullied history. As a student of journalism and political science I learned about how Hearst and Pulitzer used their newspaper empires to create and destroy equally powerful political empires. Today, we have CNN and Fox News and an increasing assortment of right- and left-leaning social media platforms that pander to the extremes of political thinking.

We are no more enlightened than the eras that saw Citizen Kane and A Face in the Crowd strip bare the power drunk antagonists who viewed political ambition as a tool to enrich their egos and personal standing. Damn the little people who elected them to office. Once firmly ensconced upon the throne, these titular leaders assumed divine authority.

Fortunately, in each movie, the lead characters each succumbed to their own capricious and brutal natures. One wonders if the same will happen in 2020.

Sadly, the reality show playing out before us is painfully reminiscent of Charles Foster Kane’s arrogance when he pronounced “people will think what I tell them to think.” Heck, I see even starker similarities with Lonesome Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd. “They’re mine? I own ‘em! They think like I do. Only they’re even more stupid than I am, so I gotta think for ‘em.”

As we near the general election of 2020 my feelings that things need to change have deepened. President Obama succinctly summed up the challenge we face this year. We have a president who has failed to be a custodian of democracy. To save democracy we must elect a new president.

This is not a recent revelation. I saw this happening four years ago, coincidentally while watching A Face in the Crowd during the run up to the 2016 general election. The Republican nominee was nothing more than a face in the crowd of presidential hopefuls, but he succeeded much like Rhodes did by playing people for fools. I voted for Clinton that year, yes Clinton, because I feared what would unfold under a Trump administration.

So, why didn’t I say anything? Why didn’t I use a bully pulpit to speak up? Honestly, I don’t know. I have never been one to talk openly about my political beliefs. I don’t like to be affiliated to any of the political parties. I am friends with people whose views span the political spectrum from far left to the far right. Maybe, I feared persecution by those on the left if I talked about my fiscal conservative leanings. It’s possible those on the right might take me to task for supporting public protests against inequality and other injustices in our society.

I’m no longer conflicted. I know where I stand and what I need to do. I need to speak out and vote for those who stand the best chance at restoring our democracy.

I am voting for Biden and Harris and I will likely vote for more Democrats than Republicans this year because I am disgusted with what has happened to the Republican Party. I am dismayed that the party has skewed so far to the right that those of us who hold moderate to conservative views are now disenfranchised.

My conservative friends will argue that by sleeping with the Democrats I am helping tilt the balance of power to Socialists bent on taking what was rightfully earned by the middle and upper classes. While there are some among the Democratic leadership who skew as far left as there are who skew far right, I would rather place my faith in Democrats who are willing to work across the aisle and restore a balance of power built on respect for the Constitution and the people who elected them to office in the first place.

I’m sure people have already started picking apart this post, doing a collective eye roll about the comparisons I have made with two old movies. After all, they were entertainment, nothing more. I see them differently. They are cautionary tales that should be required viewing because they remind us that the monsters among us often have humble beginnings. The similarities among Kane, Rhodes and Trump are real and, unlike a movie that can be turned off, we are living in a reality that surpasses anything Orson Welles and Elia Kazan could ever dream up.

As citizens we must watch out for the Kanes and Rhodes who rise to power and treat us like sheep. If needed, we should be willing to cast aside political affiliation to safeguard our democracy. We must root out arrogance and instill a sense of humility and responsibility in the White House.