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.