This Is What A Divisive Election Feels Like. My Perspective.

In Brief: You cannot avoid listening to, engaging in, conversing about it.

Elections are the hallmark of democracy. They work in terms, so in countries where democracies still exist, elections come along every 4 to 5 years. The purpose of this is to put governments in check and to keep them accountable.

If they aren’t performing, we vote to boot them out of office. And in the process, hopefully, the incumbent would focus on national interests before self, and the challenger would put forth even better proposals for the people.

From my perspective, this is the engine of capitalism applied to politics. We always have to bring our “A” game to work to continue serving the nation and the people.

I still believe in this. Call me an idealist. But I figured that this is way better than any regimes that don’t allow us to choose our leaders.

That said, the American election this year proved to be a challenge for me. Okay, slight correction. Not just me. In fact, for everyone around me. There are just too many factors in play, and each of those has been magnified to a “crisis-level” topic that can be used as a weapon to influence every voter and non-voter.

A Gentle Note from the Author of this story: -

I have to declare that I am a non-voter. I am not an American, and I reside on a sunny island near the Equator in the Asia Pacific. I do not have any stakes politically, economically, or socially regardless of the victor.

This story is written as a reflection-piece from the point of view of a non-American.

The Impact Could be Felt All Around The World.

I feel the pervasive impact rippling out from The United States. It has infiltrated into every dimension of my life. Recently, it has entered the dinner conversation I had with my Dad.

My Dad is apolitical. He doesn’t believe in the powerplay and he has lived through his entire life watching my country prosper — we went from 3rd World to 1st World — under the helm of the Late Founding Father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

My Dad’s viewpoint on politics is rather simple. He doesn’t need to be consulted via voting. He looks to a capable leader who can create hope and a way to prosperity.

In a way that we are alike, there has been a change recently. My Dad’s viewpoint has been challenged due to the challenges of containing Coronavirus.

Economic prosperity first or humanitarianism first has been on top of his mind. That has been reflected in his thoughts on the American elections this year.

While he is not a fan of the blue wave candidate, he does not endorse the incumbent’s policy of handling Coronavirus. One point that he could not accept was the sky-rocketing financial market recovery with the ever-increasing death toll numbers in The United States.

It gripped him.

There are times where he let out his frustrations while eating. There are times where he would sigh while staring at the smartphone. Although my Dad isn’t highly educated, I could tell that he was upset.

He would ever so often ask me, “Son, if you are in The United States, who would you vote for?”. I find that challenging to respond to and I don’t think I am alone. Every individual will focus on a different metric that matters to us.

As an individual who focuses on building businesses, I focus a lot more on economic policies both from the fiscal (Government) and monetary (Central Bank) standpoint.

Social policies don’t usually attract my eyeballs, although I have to say, there are those policies when correctly interpreted could present business opportunities as well.

Personally, I enjoy watching capitalism at work for the people. When the wave of economic tide rises, it lifts all boats. These boats could represent better opportunities for higher education, an explosion of openings in the labor market, and increasing wealth in the form of 401Ks (or equivalent) which support retirement.

These are all good stuff. In fact, great stuff.

But I know where my Dad is coming from when he asked me the voting question. Human lives are at stake. That question, affected me that evening. Pursuing economic prosperity and social harmony doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. Thanks to the Coronavirus, it seems like it is in 2020.

I replied to my Dad in the following manner.

“I really don’t know, Dad. I know that this decade will be a tough one because traditional bedrock companies powering last century’s growth might struggle to survive. There are many more people who will have to grapple with potential unemployment”.

My Dad looked at me and smiled.

“Still all about Economics, my son?”

I smiled back. My Dad looked to his phone with worries written all over his face. The mainstream media has caught his attention in an undivided way. I remembered asking if he believes in what he reads from the mainstream media. He knew that the possibilities of fake news are high although he cannot stop reading the news from those sources.

Great job, media platforms. You have groomed and nurtured a generation of skeptical elders through the aggressive pursuit of attention-based reporting.

Trust is now an exponentially depreciating currency in the fabric of society. I think this might be pervasive globally.

How Should We Rethink Our Path To Progress?

While elections in a country may prove to be divisive because people are now extremely skeptical, this should not be the focus or even the point of our attention.

We have many issues to deal with. We have many problems we have to solve to bring us back on the path of prosperity.

So what if we scream out loud that we have a climate crisis? Do we have the skillset to rally people and solve the problem? So what if we can point out that extremism is rife in this decade? Are we able to rally people around us to remain calm, less agitated, and to consider all perspectives of the story?

The noise that we create will always just remain noise if we don’t proactively move into the next stage of problem-solving.

2021 should be the year we start building ourselves and the World we live in, from the bottom up.

Focus On Building A Future We Deserve,

Aldric

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About the Author:

As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure.

Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.

As a Consultant by training, I believe in making the complex simple.

Because simplicity adds value.

And with clarity — We grow.

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