When reading the “Impossible” reading, I was immediately struck by the quote “The problem is not that we have so little power. The problem is that we don’t use the power that we have.” This specific quote reminds me a lot of the American political system and specifically reminded me of the most recent two presidential elections where voter turnout was low from certain groups, such as younger voters whose turnout is always, disappointingly, low.
Currently, in our political system, the two parties are so polarized that the elections are entirely about defeating the other candidate rather than actually electing a candidate which the party actually backs and has faith in. For example, in the current presidential election, many people claimed that though they supported Bernie Sanders’ ideas, they did not vote for him because he was not “electable” and somehow that was more important than voting for a candidate who they actually believe in. Thus, Joe Biden became the candidate to win solely on the platform that he is “not Donald Trump” and many Americans believe that because he is more of a centrist candidate, he is more “electable” and this race was dissolved into who the people think can beat Donald Trump as opposed to who is the best candidate, which is unfortunate. People need to start using the voices that they have to stand up for ideas that they really believe in, as speaking out and coming together is the only way to achieve progress. Americans are fortunate to have power in the political process, and they need to stop letting the polarized party system and political establishment get in the way of this.
I agree with your point about low voter turnout. People often feel like their vote doesn’t matter since our country is so big, so they don’t vote. However, that snowballs into thousands and thousands of people not showing up to the polls and definitely has an effect on election results. It’s easy to feel small in those instances but we need to remember the power of collective action and turn out to vote in November.
I completely agree, I think that people do not use the voice they have. I think that this also has a lot to do with what the author was talking about with people being intimidated by authority. Without followers there would be no leader, which is why it is so important that people voice their opinions because eventually they will make a difference.
I also wrote about that quote in my reading response. I also said that it was very close to Nelson Mandela’s famous “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” People do not use the voice that they have because our society is set up to reward conformity.
Yes, I agree about the low voter turnout. I feel like a common mentality towards political voting, especially among minority populations, is, “Oh, I’m just one person. My vote won’t mean anything.” Because of that the population that votes is not representative of the population affected by laws. If everyone used the power they had, election results could be very different.
I think your take on the reading surrounding politics was interesting and I agree with it. The candidates especially in our modern day elections have stopped focusing on the power they have, but how they can take power away from their opponent, which is not what a presidential election is ever meant to be about.