A couple of days ago I received an e-mail message from MoveOn.org which posed a hypothetical scenario in which Barack Obama lost the election in November by only a single vote, and asked who would be responsible for that. There followed a clever simulated news broadcast on the situation in which broadcasters, protesting crowds and interviewed persons around an embittered world cursed my name (or praised it in the cases of Bush and Limbaugh) because I, Jerry Rose, had not voted for Obama. The gist of the accusation was that I was just too damned lazy or antipathetic to get out and vote since, as a person on the MoveOn e-list, it was assumed that I would not have voted for another candidate. But if I had, the thrust of this message was the same, that I would be personally responsible for the election of McCain and that Iran would soon be bombed, at about noon on Saturday.
Watch the video message below.
This is supposed to be “funny” of course but, like most wit has, as Freud long ago pointed out, has an aggressive intent to hurt the “butt” of the joke. This scenario of a 1-vote McCain victory is so remote a possibility as to justify its dismissal as having any “serious” content. Unfortunately, the accusation of non-voting (or of voting for candidates other than Democrats and Republicans) as a source of an unintended but dreadful consequence of a citizen’s voting choice, is extremely widespread in this and most other U.S. elections, and it doesn’t come only from such “fantasy” scenarios. It comes from many people who condemn either a non-vote (an entirely “responsible” decision if the voter sees insufficient difference between candidates to make a “choice.”) or for a third party candidate. MoveOn’s “funny” video, when adapted to everyday peer pressure in an election season, is nothing less than the installation of fear into the voting process. It is hard to imagine any viable image of democracy which gives to the “tyranny of the majority” this power to terrorize voters who might be marching to a different drummer (or be refusing to march in the elector parade.) As they said on the old radio show, “’tain’t funny, McGee.”
Jerry D. Rose – Editor, The Sun State Activist
Oh Gawd (pronounced, god) please stop being stuffy. It was pretty funny because of the hyperbole, u know, when writers use exaggeration to prove their point. we all know the war will continue with mccain, he wont nuke iran or iraq or any other place. its sad that u are digging so deep into this purely satirical video. i mean only idiots would entertain this for more than a mild thought. thats like when ppl say vote or die. umm u wont ever die from not voting. anyways. if u want to see real fear campaigning u can look at mccain’s ads and watch fox news. go ahead, u’ll see supposedly “facts” about obama being anti-america, taking away rights, being a muslim, palling around with terrorist, promoting infanticide, etc… fear at its best…drink up
[...] would be PERSONALLY responsible if Obama were to lose the election and urging me to perpetrate that same message on my friends, the organization now takes a kinder and gentler approach. That election [...]
[...] Oct 22: I get a mocked-up video commentary on a supposed post-election TV news report that John McCain had just been elected by one vote and [...]