The divide over mail in ballots seems to have been made worse by hyper-partisanship. According to a poll of 1,987 voters, 70% of Republicans felt the election was not free and fair, and of that percentage, 78% felt mail-in ballots led to widespread fraud (which is an unsubstantiated theory the president has been pushing). In contrast, 90% of Democrats believe the election was free and fair.
I found this story interesting because it exemplifies the consequences of Trump's rhetoric. For instance, the slogan, count all "legal" votes, falsely implies that illegal votes are being counted, and casts doubt on the election, which makes it damaging rhetoric to put forth. I am also troubled by the willingness of some Congress members and other Trump supporters to support false claims, though some Republican Congresspeople like Mitt Romney have condemned him. I am concerned that even after Trump is removed from office, his views will shape the Republican party.
I find hyper-partisanship and how divided the nation to be worrisome trends, which can undermine the foundations of democracy in America.
Questions:
1. How do you feel about the election?
2. How can the spread of misinformation, like false claims about the election be limited? What actions should social media platforms/individuals/public officials take?
3. Should Republicans continue to back Trump's claims or should they try to distance themselves from him?
4. How will a lack of faith in the election impact a transition to a Biden presidency?
5. Do you believe bipartisanship is still possible? How would it become possible?
6. How can we maintain trust in our democracy?
While I have mixed feelings about the election itself, I am happy with the result of it, being Biden's election. However, his win has obviously been dimmed by Trump's false claims, which is a problem that I don't know how exactly to fix, because I think that even if every high-authority figure announced that the election was in fact fair, as long as Trump himself said it was not, a majority of his supporters would believe him, simply because of loyalty. Bold assertion and perhaps exaggerated, but the point is that while the spread of false claims can be limited by officials denouncing his assertion, I don't think that it will be very effective in changing most supporters minds, although I would love to be proven wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs for your third question, I think that a good tip in general when supporting politicians or representatives is to make sure that their morals and beliefs align with your own, which means not being blindly loyal but educating yourself and forming your own opinions based off of it. This also goes for the hyper-partisanship that you had mentioned is on the rise; very worrisome, and something that I think could be fixed if people started forming their own EDUCATED opinions based on facts, and not blind loyalty to a person or political party. But easier said than done, right?
I think it's fair to say that no matter who anyone was supporting no one felt "good" about this election. Being upset that Trump lost the election is fine, I can sympathize with that, shouting out false claims of voter fraud as the reasoning though is another deal. I don't entirely blame Trump for some of the false claims he spreads. I think along with many other issues, that the media is to blame. The more you cover the topic of "voter fraud" the more attention its gonna get. It doesn't help that all the political networks who are calling out Trump's false claims are liberal networks. Which is why I think it's good when a conservative network calls these things out. As for the future, I think the Republican party will be fine once Trump leaves, things will basically go back to how they were under Obama, which is a good or bad thing depending on who you are.
ReplyDeleteAs for solving this problem, I think the root cause is misinformation and media. The role that media plays in America needs to be re-evaluated. The line between News networks and biased political talkshows needs to be more clearly defined.
I think the best way to maintain Democracy is to trust the system and avoid super radicalization. And being able to understand other peoples political views and where they are coming from also helps. We don't have to agree with them, but should at least understand why they believe that. And this goes for everyone on the political spectrum
I disagree with the assertion that all the political networks calling out Trump's false claims are liberal networks. Most all reliable news sites (which are considered to be neutral) have pushed back against claims of widespread voter fraud.
DeleteEx. PBS: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/as-trump-continues-to-push-false-claims-of-fraud-top-officials-say-election-was-most-secure-in-history
NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-2020-election-results/2020/11/09/933254127/gop-tip-toes-around-acknowledging-biden-win-timidly-backs-trump-election-conspir (which calls it a "disinformation campaign about voting")
AP: https://apnews.com/article/ap-fact-check-trump-claims-biden-vaccine-ccbaa4fdc50ba8fbff24a7f11d3c3751 (many fact checks contradicting Trump)
BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54811410
I think without news media, Trump's disinformation may have become more widespread and damaging, and that they are a net positive in combatting misinformation.
Of course, this is not to say that media as a whole has no problems: some allow for spread of misinformation, but I believe there is a distinction to be made about what types of media are problematic.
While I'm someone who doesn't have the greatest interest in politics, this is the election that I paid the most attention to. Whether it was because I was stuck inside all day listening to it or I do care about it. I feel that Biden, even though he's not the best candidate ever, was better than the alternative. Personally, I can't really comprehend how people still support and believe things Trump says. Most of the things that he says are blatant lies and the man doesn't believe in basic science.
ReplyDeleteMisinformation is something that is sort of uncontrollable in this day and age. With the internet being extremely vast there is tons of information that is fake. I feel the only way to prevent information that is false and misleading is to inform yourself what to believe and what not to. Some people will still be misled by fake news and fake information, and with a previous president that just fed fake information it is kind of hard to discern information that is factual and information that is fake. I feel limiting information that is right or not nowadays is much harder and I would like to say almost impossible.
This election was going to be different from the beginning due to the pandemic but I don't think that has effected the integrity of the votes. We all knew Trump wasn't going to hand the presidency easily so I believe this is just a desperate attempt at delaying the inevitable. Maybe social media platforms can ban any messages around this current issue but I feel like that would be too much. Honestly, there is no clear way to prevent the spread of these messages. I may be biased but I think Republicans should not continue to support Trump and his claims until there is clear evidence backing his claims. The lack of faith will make Biden's presidency controversial even though it really shouldn't be. Some people will be unhappy but that's how its got to be. It is definitely still possible but on the federal level there has to be a lot done before we reach something remotely close to bipartisanship. We can maintain trust in our democracy by letting it play out since we know that Trump will eventually have to exit.
ReplyDeleteI think that this election has been one of the most interesting in recent years (then again, I haven't been alive for that many yet).
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me is the concept that democracy has now become a battle for truth. Scientific institutions like the CDC and WHO are being discredited by large numbers of Americans, despite the fact that we as a society have relied on and trusted science for centuries now.
Of course, in this scenario, I am confident that enough Americans understand what really happened to prevent President Trump from succeeding in his attempt to spread misinformation. However, there's always the risk that such an attack on truth could actually succeeds in the future. If someone can successfully convince the public of a lie, then that lie becomes the new reality.
Maintaining trust in our democracy? I'm not sure if that's possible anymore. The floodgates have been opened, and social media and the constant bombardment of information/news from "our side" instead of the "other side" has led Americans to lack trust in each other and turn against each other. Maybe it's just a consequence of taking APUSH, but I personally hardly trust any news anymore unless I check it against another reliable source. Once you start to look for it, you realize that every news source has some bias and that critical thinking is necessary for Americans to filter out the signal from the noise.
I agree that this election is notable due to how basic science is being questioned. I'm reminded of how Scientific America and Nature both notably endorsing Biden over Trump, with Scientific America citing Trump's attacks on "environmental protections, medical care, and the researchers and public science agencies that help this country prepare for its greatest challenges" as a reason.
DeleteI am perhaps less confident that enough Americans understand the truth about issues like this. The fact that as many as 70% of Republicans believe a narrative of significant voter fraud, is, to me, evidence to the contrary.
Like you point out, I think it is also concerning how, due to social media and other factors, people can get stuck in echo chambers which increases political polarization.
I feel like the election was a fair election and the whole claim that the election of being rigged could be the increased mail in votes which seems to be the main claim that the election was riged. As for spread of missinformation is compounded by the increasing use of social media as anyone can say anything without a fact checker. as for miss information I think it hards to combat it I would say the best aproach would be through education, similar to the stranger danger slogan which helped decrease kidnapings. as for social media platforms and the internet I have always perfered the internet have little to no restrictions as its virtual and anything generally said can remain anoymous and private. As for how the election will impact both canidates Trump and Biden I feel like Trump is definately going to benifit more from making a fuss and rebulicans will back him. As for biden I feel like this riged election is definately going to make it harder for him to enact his actions in America but if riots do clam down I think he wont have to worry about it. as for bipartisian ship I think it is possible, I Think once Democrats and Republicans learn that they are finding solutions to a common problem just differently then they may work together. as for trust I havent seen enough to say we cant distrust our democracy. I think thats for the individual to decide if you distrust america, but I trust in american rationality after this blows over they will accept the results and trust in democracy will endure
ReplyDeleteWhile I’m relieved with the outcome of the election, it’s worrying to me that so many people are convinced that there was voter fraud. If there are tons of Americans convinced Biden didn’t really win the election it could lead to a lot of division once the time comes for a transfer of power. So far, there doesn’t seem to be any truth to the claims of widespread voter fraud, but some still choose to believe the president’s claims over other sources. I don’t know how to stop the spread of misinformation, but what’s important is that people are careful about where they get their information from. Republicans love to bash CNN the same way Democrats do Fox News, but no matter what side you’re on you should do your own research and look at multiple sources instead of sticking to one news channel. A big part of stopping misinformation is being able to recognize when your favorite news source isn’t being truthful or over exaggerating instead of just believing things. I also don’t think bipartisanship is really possible at this point. The terms Democrat and Republican are too broad, which leads to division within the parties themselves, and this past election was extremely divisive.
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't be surprising that the election results are heavily disputed. Trump told his voter base to not vote by mail in order to create a partisan divide in the votes. This was trumps plan all along and the pandemic was able to amplify the use of mail-in ballots. I personally am happy with the thought of not-Trump but Trumpism is still alive and well in 70 million American people and it'll never go away. Republicans should definitely support him on this as they will lose and be on the wrong side of history.
ReplyDeleteThis post is closed; no more comments will be graded.
ReplyDelete