I woke up in the middle of the night to check the election results to see that Trump was still ahead…way ahead and it was looking like there was no way for Harris to find a path to the number of electoral votes needed to challenge Trump’s lead. I turned off my phone and tossed and turned for an hour or so. Although not necessarily surprised at the outcome that was coming into focus, I was surprised by my level of disorientation and a deep-seated feeling that the my world-view was somehow improperly skewed. How could so many American voters once again ignore the obvious ethical and legal problems with this candidate and the bullshit that he has spewed for the last 4 years? Of course, TV and online pundits will be trying to answer this very question for weeks but I think there are two major reasons:
First, it seems that Americans will not vote for a female President. The idea that leadership is portrayed through traits that are stereotypically masculine, such as assertiveness, decisiveness and strength are deeply ingrained in our cultural biases. As we have seen in this campaign, this bias manifests in the way female candidates are portrayed in the media where they may be scrutinized more harshly than their male counterparts. Many were more concerned with questions about Harris’s appearance, her previous relationships, her ethnicity, her family life and her emotional stability rather than her policies and qualifications. All while ignoring the fact that Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies, accused of multiple sexual assaults, is still facing charges that he attempted to overturn a free and fair election in 2020, has run multiple businesses into bankruptcy and numerous other actions that should have turned away voters. The double-standard is remarkable.
Second, we have become a country where the majority of people get their news from 15-second TikTok videos and shallow, biased television news broadcasts. We prioritize entertainment over substance leading to a society where most individuals possess only a superficial understanding of critical issues. Complex topics, such as climate change, healthcare, gun control, immigration and reproductive rights are distilled into catchy memes or brief soundbites, stripping away the nuance and depth necessary for informed discourse.
This trend has serious implications for our collective knowledge and civic engagement. Misinformation and disinformation are frequently accepted as fact, overshadowing the informed opinions of experts who dedicate their lives to studying these issues. The allure of viral content often eclipses the hard work of journalists and scholars, making it easier for sensationalized narratives to gain traction. As a result, public opinion is swayed by misleading information that spreads rapidly across social media platforms.
Moreover, the way we approach research has drastically changed. What was once a process of critical inquiry and evaluation has devolved into a quick scan of a few YouTube videos or a skimming of the first few results of AI-generated Google searches. This superficial “research” leads to cherry-picking information that just confirms our pre-existing beliefs rather than engaging with a diverse range of perspectives. The convenience of this approach may feel satisfying in the moment but it ultimately undermines our ability to engage thoughtfully with the world around us.
We have become a society that is not only poorly informed but also disengaged from the complexities of the issues that affect our lives. We can see the consequences of this trend in the number of Americans who seemed ready to accept Trump’s “concept of a plan” or his claim that he would deal with one issue or another (like negotiating the end to Russia’s war on Ukraine) on day-one as complete, easy-to-implement solutions. In a democracy, an informed citizenry is essential, and the current trajectory suggests that we have moved further away from that ideal.