Commentary: Listening

I’m not a slogan kind of thinker. In fact, slogans really bug me. Whenever I hear one of those pithy little phrases that are supposed to sum up what needs to be said and put me firmly on one side of an issue, I immediately go into question mode.
For example, whenever I see “Protect Healdsburg!” I immediately think, “Protect it from what? And for whom?” When I see, “Housing for locals!” I think, “Really? Could it possibly be so easy to solve our housing problem as a ballot measure?”
My inner cynic is going on high gear right now. So much so that I’ve written a haiku, especially for the election.
We’re in election
season. Promises. Slogans.
What else can they say?
Maybe, it isn’t cynical of me to question the veracity of these slogans – maybe it’s just a desire to understand the realities behind them.
Because truly I’m not cynical when it comes to voting – I’m thrilled to live in a democracy and I take that privilege very seriously. I don’t doubt that my vote matters to the future course of the free world, even though sometimes I think ours is the best democracy money can buy.
Elections cost so much because politicians and sponsors of ballot measures pay lots of money to public relation firms to come up with these pithy campaign slogans that are supposed to persuade and cajole (dare I say manipulate?) voters.
I’m afraid that’s where we lose our ability to dialogue and really think about what’s behind the decisions we make in the voting box, and we live in a more brittle, less robust democracy because of it.
This election especially I find myself trying to balance feeling invested in the outcome, while at the same time assuming a saint-like acceptance of whatever that outcome may be.
I know that intelligent people who appreciate democracy and want what’s best for our community and country vote on both sides of issues and for opposing candidates. When it comes to elections, I believe it’s more helpful to think more in terms of charting our course for the future and less in terms of right and wrong or good and bad.
Here’s to hoping that we can have more intelligent and honest discussion about our future course. I’m listening, and so are many other people, especially our youngest voters who are just now learning what democracy means for their own lives.
I think the answer to that will depend on how much substance they see behind the process. Surely there’s more to it than simple slogans, which in and of themselves mean practically nothing.
The Rev. Sally Hanes Hubbell is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Healdsburg.