I really thought that this chapter had a lot of pertinence into the current day, as it discussed protests and elections as well. Zinn claims that the American people had an adversarial culture, something that I think can be a really good thing. Today we are having protests for BLM, something so important, that is going to require the country to change. I think our ability to protest and fight for our rights is something that needs to protected because it is what has led to significant social change in the past. This can be seen in Civil rights, feminist movements, and more.
I thought a really interesting part of Zinn’s chapter was about the election, and how the media said that Bush and Reagan’s elections were landslides when in reality, they did not have overwhelming support. A lot of the country did not vote or had to choose between two people that they did not necessarily love. I feel like this has become a recent trend in politics, that people have felt like they had to vote, but had to choose between two candidates that were not very good. Similar to then, I think people either vote based on policies, or because they really don’t like the other candidate. Why has this become a thing? Why are we not fighting for better candidates?
The last thing Zinn argues is about how when you get down to issues, Democrats and Republicans really are not that different and that the divides and differences in this country come from the class divides in the country as the wealthy and the middle class and the poor all have different priorities that are reflected in their political preferences.
In speaking to your point about why we lack good candidates…..In our last class discussion, we talked about how our government lacks such poor candidates for President because no sane person wants to run for such a position. You are under constant scrutiny, your life is exposed at all times, and the whole country depends on you. It’s hard to find people with great ideas for policies that are agreeable by both parties, and who are also genuinely people at heart.
I agree that the ability to fight for rights and for what we believe in is so important and I hope the current protests and movements happening now, have significant social change and effects in the future. I agree with Sara with the idea that we lack good Presidential candidates because many don’t want to be put in the position with so much pressure and scrutiny. Many good politicians would rather be involved with other jobs that don’t require as much publicity and spotlight. I also have noticed within recent years that many people end up voting for a candidate because they simply don’t like their opposer or their beliefs.
I agree that people feel like they have to vote, but both of their options are not to the standard to which they want. I also find it super interesting and agree with what you said about people either voting for policies or against a certain candidate. I also wonder why we don’t vote for better candidates.
I like how you related the chapter to the recent black lives matter protests. I also agree that people being unsatisfied with the government is a good thing that can lead the country towards progress, we are far behind from achieving equality and I think that you are right on the point that “our ability to protest and fight for our rights is something that needs to protected” as change needs to happen in today’s society and we need to keep fighting for it.