We the People Killed the Harris Win

By Christine Merser

“The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually strive to do deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends oneself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if (he or she) fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” - Theodore Roosevelt

All over the news people were blaming. Lots of blame, lots of people, but I couldn’t help noticing that none of the people who gave up their life for months to fight for a different ending were participating in the Monday morning quarterbacking.

Just saying.

“The rearview mirror is smaller than the windshield for a reason.” - Christine Merser

I spent some time in the rearview mirror this weekend, not second guessing, as much as wondering if there was more I could have done.

I have no desire to litigate what happened over the past year or to blame the Harris-Walz loss on any one person or event. That said, when asked, “Why did she lose?” I will answer, “Well, it’s our fault— we the people’s fault.” It’s the fault of all of us. Here are some things that we didn’t do but should have.

We the people don’t mind the store.

You and I. If I hire someone to do something for me—babysitting my beloved child might be a fair analogy—I don’t leave them with my child for four years without checking on what they are or aren’t doing. Or, if they are minding the store that represents my livelihood and future, I stop by, pop in, have monthly meetings. I look at the books. I question and visit to see how things are going. I make changes.

One example, chosen from thousands, would be McConnell’s press conference after he voted against the impeachment of DT. He said DT was out of office and it was therefore up to the Justice Department to indict and try Trump, not Congress. Two years later, when nothing was being done, why wasn’t I calling my senator? Why weren’t you? Why were we just reading what was put in front of us, rather than driving the Senate and Congress with our outrage and the threat to throw them all out? They work for us. We didn’t hold them accountable.

We the people didn’t vote.

We didn’t vote. Eighty million of us who were registered didn’t vote.

In other countries...

22 nations around the world make voting mandatory for its citizens, often starting at age 18, according to the CIA World Factbook. Several of these countries are in Latin America with a handful allowing citizens to age out of compulsory voting by as early as age 65. In Australia, failure to vote can result in a $20 fine (The NY Times).

God, we’re lazy. Myself included.

We should be able to vote online and it should be mandatory.

We the people didn’t follow the money and stop the corruption surrounding it.

There are so many examples that it would take four years to list them all. Let’s start with Elon Musk, who actually has never invented or started anything. Watch this video and shake your head in astonished shame. Chuck Schumer, you voted for this?

Bottom line is, we gave a man who had no credentials that would make him a good risk, billions of dollars in contracts, and we didn’t even own a piece of what he was building. Like Starlink? Seriously, you and I should own it, and we should all call everyone on Capitol Hill and ask them why we don’t!

Oh, wait! One more thing. A few weeks ago, Ukraine asked Musk to enable Starlink in Crimea. Musk declined the request without saying why. So, let me get this straight—our money got Musk the contract to build it… and we have no say in who uses it? Heads up, people. He could take it away from us as well. Not sure who is negotiating these contracts, but they should be in jail.

We the people naively think as Anne Frank did before she was dragged to her death:

"I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." - Anne Frank

But the majority of people who voted are not truly good at heart. They aren’t. I, for one, am not going to continue to pretend anything other than what actually happened. I have no desire to beat anyone up, but I will not look at you and say your vote was anything other than what it was.

White America doesn’t want to give up power to the diverse group of people that make up our citizen fabric—especially men. Oh, wait, Harris was a woman and a person of color? Have we not been paying attention? Do you really think that the demographic voter breakdown of why Biden won and she didn’t doesn’t show that was her biggest obstacle? Even with women, which is what boggles my mind.

The man in this video turns my stomach. But he is also saying what others don’t say out loud but believe. And, I think I know him? Am I crazy? I tried to find his name and where this was, but couldn’t. And his comments, as he ironically shovels Chinese food into his mouth, is why she lost. We the people are a racist society in ways we just didn’t want to see. And, we are clueless as to who built and made this country great.

Scary, right?

Okay, so that’s my take on why she lost—not to be confused with any data-driven reasons. Nuff said. Time to stop blaming. It does no good.

Years ago I was having trouble with my mother. My shrink said, “You can mess up. You can be inappropriately angry. You can say things you wish you hadn’t. The only thing you are not allowed to do is give up.”

I don’t know if it’s too late to fix what is shattered. But we are not allowed to stop trying. Each in her or his own way. One day at a time. Without a big picture in mind, but rather by focusing on small acts of resistance. More to follow in the coming weeks.

And, thanks for the vote of confidence and requests for this column to continue. We are marinating in it.

— Christine Merser, We the People Dispatch