Time to put on Voting Trifocals and Head Out to Vote

Our vote for US President is a vote for the only elected official whose primary leadership responsibility is the entire country. It’s an important vote that has short, medium and long term implications, because the President’s decisions and actions will influence what happens in all these timeframes. So, put on your trifocal voting-glasses, and look at all the implications of your vote before marking your ballot.

The close-up lens: your immediate interests. First, look through the lens that helps you see what is right before you, the personal issues you face today: COVID19 and health concerns, taxes, jobs, social security, safety and security, and more.  Politicians often call these “kitchen table” issues – immediate and near term concerns that you think and worry about each day.  Politicians focus many of their promises and policies here, often committing to quick solutions for complex problems without telling you that you may have to sacrifice something (pay more, accept some regulation, wear masks, stay away from the pubs) to get the solutions you want. 

When you look at the candidates through this lens, identify what they are proposing and standing for today that is important to you. Think about what it will really take to make solutions work. Ask yourself whether there are any big negative future impacts of getting what you want right away (e.g., you may put protesters in jail today, but that won’t solve the deeper social problems at play). What candidate stands out as you look through the near-term lens of your voting glasses?

The intermediate lens: the country as a whole. Blink a few times to let your eyes adjust to this second voting lens – the lens through which you see the country as a whole – our America the Beautiful.  Lift above your personal and local needs to appreciate that this is a Nation of diverse people and interests -- living on farms and ranches, in the country, in the city, in the suburbs, in poorer and richer parts of our cities and states, in cold and hot climates, in houses and apartments, on the streets and under bridges. We are Christians, Muslims, Jews, Atheists, Agnostics, Spiritual-but-not-religious, and more.  We are African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, mixed race.  13%  of us are first generation American, 12% are second generation, and 75% are third generation or more – with many of us self-identifying as 4th generation (our great-grandparents were immigrants). This quilt of diversity is the United States of America, and we are in this democracy experiment together.  And each part has its own challenges, needs, and interests. 

This may be a difficult lens to look through because it helps you see clearly that your vote for President (and for Congress, too, even though members have local as well as national loyalties) affects everyone -- all groups and parts of the USA. With the help of this intermediate lens, you ask yourself, “Who will be best leader to make this a better country – one that is win-win, not ‘win-lose; where we are more than the sum of our parts?” “Am I willing to support someone whose policies may not always advantage me or my local community, but are the best for the country as a whole? For example, will I vote for someone who favors such policies as: taxation that creates more income equity? Investments in rural Internet even though I live in the city? Subsidies for new businesses or to prop up old enterprises to help them get through automation transitions or catastrophic disruptions?  Investments that will level the playing field for people affected by systemic poverty and racism?

The United States as a whole can’t be healthy when parts are sick – when there is systemic inequity and us/them thinking. So, with your intermediate lens, look broadly across this America of ours to see the Nation as a whole, to see that we are all in this together and can’t escape each other.  See beyond personal concerns and through vacuous campaign promises, negative ads and name-calling, and fears that you will lose if others win. Then, with more clarity, look through this lens to see who the best candidate is for the country as a whole? Whose leadership will make us better and more peaceful and prosperous together – all of us.  

The long-distance lens

Now, look through your third voting lens to discover which candidate will have the most positive effect on the future that we are fast-creating today.  Think about your descendants and future generations in general. Ask yourself who can best help our country prepare for and thrive in an increasingly complex world. Which candidate will help the US to be a constructive, but strong player in a global community where others have different beliefs and approaches? Who will best lead us through the tough actions and negotiations that will ensure our beautiful and fragile planet remains habitable? And who will help us leave the country and the world a better place than we found them?

These are big issues to ponder and are easy to put off. But all of them are at tipping points – easier and less expensive to deal with today than when they burst into full blown crises. The future will be different than the past, and it will require a new kind of vision and tenacity. What our next U.S. president does with his enormous powers in fast-changing times will affect whether the US evolves or falls behind in these areas for many decades to come. He will also influence the kind of democratic or other governance path that we, and because we are a powerful global role model, other nations embrace. 

It’s hard to keep this lens on for long. The future is hazy -- easy to ignore and then leave to others to deal with. We are wired to give more weight to what is tangible and gratifying in the present, and it is hard to deal with the future’s uncertainties. But, let’s look through that long distance lens long enough to answer the question:  which candidate is better prepared and equipped to lead this diverse nation into the future? 

So, put on your Voting Trifocals!

There are some things we can be relatively sure about. We can be sure that technology will continue to evolve and get smarter. We can be sure that (unless there is a global catastrophe bigger than COVID), the world population will expand from today’s 7.7 billion to 9 billion in 2050: and darker-skinned people will be in the majority worldwide. 

And we can be sure that, because our President inhabits the most powerful role in the world, his decisions and actions will have larger than life effects on us, our Nation, and the world/planet – in the short term, yes, but also in the medium and long term. This is because armed with the vast powers of his role, when the United States President speaks, he roars. When he walks down the hall, he shakes the earth, when he looks at something it is with the burning heat of lasers.  

This is the awesome power of the role that you will be voting for in 2020.

And, this is why you must wear your voting trifocals when you head out to vote.