Unaffiliated or Just Still Unfocused?
Why the political idealism of a growing number of UNA's could help make a fantasy of democracy
Right up front I’m going to confess that twice in my life — twice — I voted for third party candidates.
In 1992 I voted for Reform Party candidate Ross Perot, who promised a people’s democracy and a balanced budget, and was was opposed to NAFTA. He was passionate about these things and so was I.
In 2000 I voted for Ralph Nader of the Green Party because he was for a clean environment and consumer safety. He was against racism and war, and warned that our democracy was in crisis. He must be given a chance!
I remember feeling that I was wasting these two votes for third-party candidates; but I was so disheartened. The widening economic gap in America was hurting working people like me. So in these races I voted for the man, not for the party. I thought the Democrats and the Republicans were equally scrappy and even disgusting. I felt righteous. I changed my registration from Democrat to Unaffiliated.
Then I started paying attention to politics and reality set in.
One March evening in 2003, I heard President Bush on the radio telling the country that because there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he was rushing us into war. Soon after, I said to my fellow workers at the bookstore that if you believe this was a fake war, you shouldn’t have to pay federal income tax.
I felt righteous over this, too, but it began to feel uncomfortable.
It was dawning on me that my vote for the heartbreakingly lovely Green Party in 2000 actually helped elect George W. Bush, who, it turned out, had almost no sense of peace, of racial dignity or economic fairness for all Americans, or even of telling the truth.
And I realized, too late, that the Democratic candidate Al Gore would have had a better chance of accomplishing Nader’s goals than Nader himself, because in office Gore would have had a stronger political organization behind him than Nader would have.
This is just how politics works, much as I wish it were more kind to us and to the earth. And the legislative decisions that come out of politics affect all our lives every day.
In North Carolina, by percentage and age group, how do UNA’s compare with all voters? The younger the voters, the more likely they are to be UNA rather than Democratic or Republican:
In fact, today the UNA’s in North Carolina, and in America, outnumber both Democratic and Republican voters.
By nature UNA’s are unorganized. I think being UNA is a way of feeling fancy free with every option open. You’re not boxed in or easily identified. You don’t get party emails or requests for money or to volunteer your time. You’re the American cowboy.
The Lone Ranger, Bonnie and Clyde, and Luke Skywalker were probably all UNA’s. I wondered about my own generation’s all-American rebel James Dean, so I looked it up and learned that “he didn't get into politics”. Now I see that while I was a teenager buying a movie-star magazine for 20 cents every Friday evening at the grocery store, James Dean was showing us kids how to be a UNA. He made it cool to be above the fray.
A UNA floats free, and that’s beautiful. But in my mind youthful idealism about what should be, can limit your taking part in the world. But if you see a difference in what one party is doing compared with the other, why stand on the sidelines? This is the perfect time to declare your support because right now the Democrats and Republicans have never been more distinct.
For instance, are you ok with what the January 6th assault on our Capitol did to our democratic process, as most Republicans in office seem to be (check their votes)? Or are you worried about it, as the Democrats are (check their votes).
There’s a difference. Which world would you rather live in?
It has been said that all politics is local.
If you take a few minutes to find out what local and state candidates intend to do, you can help make years of change in your community. Your one vote makes a big splash at home.
In 2021 my elected county Commissioners voted 3-2 to kill a resolution that would have supported Medicaid Expansion in NC. Three Republicans on the Board voted No, and the 4th Republican (a health insurance agent) along with the single democratic-thinking UNA (!) voted Yes.
And then, just to be sure we got it, the Republican who sits on the far right in the picture below, called for a vote to never support it.
How would you have voted on this issue in 2021?
So many local and state elections now are partisan all the way down the ballot from judges and commissioners to school boards, that it’s important (and revealing) to find out the details of what the two major parties are offering.
For example, do you want your tax money to support public schools? Or do you want them defunded, perhaps paving the way for private and charter schools that are open to select groups of students.
Taking a stand requires a personal commitment, but if you want to help “change the narrative” where you live, it’s worth it — even if you don’t like being part of an organization. I myself take heart from Will Rogers: “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”
Thank you, Deda, for such a thought full article. Well worth sharing.
Well said, Deda! I'm going to share this with my precinct members.