Nov 29

December 2024

This space in December of 2016 was used to offer some advice to readers, and in particular to my two sons, coming off Donald Trump’s first election victory to become the president of our country.

I said at the time that my sons grew up in a household where politics and the workings of government were common topics of discussion. My oldest, before he was even in his teens, spent time with me and a local township treasurer many years ago riding around evenings in Commerce Township, our home at the time, posting signs and flyers in support of an open space preservation millage on the ballot that I and others on a committee had initiated. They saw first hand what involvement on issues and the public agenda meant.

Both – one married with a daughter here in Birmingham and one in New York – have matured into young adults who are intellectually engaged with the world around them. They probably didn’t need my advice in 2016 following Trump’s win, but I dispensed it anyway. And I do so again eight years later, but now because both of them reached out following Trump’s second win this past November.

Like everyone else I know, they and the general population approached the November 5 vote in a state of anxiety, regardless of party affiliation, heightened even more no doubt by the billions of dollars, literally, of campaign literature tumbling out of our mail boxes, filling the airways on TV, and populating the screens of internet devices and overtaking email accounts.

For us, the choices on the ballot were a candidate that inspired hope and a candidate twice impeached, found guilty of sexual assault, with a dubious track record of misogyny, racism and, to put it mildly, a penchant for ignoring both laws and decorum.

Like half the population, there was a collective disappointment when Kamala Harris failed to win this year’s contest. My family suffered a couple days of what can only be called a dreadful funk. I did my best to help lift their spirits but it was tougher this time around with Trump on the ballot for the third time. There was even some talk of moving from Michigan because election returns suggested it may be a Red state (it’s not).

I considered not sharing my thoughts with followers of Downtown Newsmagazine until the publishing group received correspondence from a local Trump acolyte who sent us a no-holds barred, election-related email that can only be described as racist and sexist. Scary stuff that went far beyond some of the post election nonsense no doubt many have witnessed, like the clown car (actually a pick-up truck) of court jesters who for several days after the election drove around the local area with their Trump banners and flags.

The email, displaying world views that may be more widespread than we wish to admit, prompted me to write this column.

Michigan is probably best described as a Purple state when it comes to presidential races. Trump took it this year by 50.1 percent but Biden took it by a couple added points in 2020. It vacillates by a few points one way or another every four years depending on the candidate.

We live in an increasingly Blue county. Over 54 percent chose Kamala Harris this year as opposed to 43.66 percent for Trump. Joe Biden racked up 56.23 percent of the Oakland County vote in 2020 and Hillary Clinton took 51.29 percent in 2016. With the exception of Bloomfield Hills, which clearly leans Republican, most of the local area leans Democrat. Birmingham is Blue. No debate. This year 57 percent of voters went for Harris. In fact, she took every precinct this year – all 10 of them. In the case of Bloomfield Township, Harris tallied 1,567 more votes than those backing Trump, continuing its gradual movement into the Blue column.

On the plus side, Birmingham appears to becoming more diverse, racially and culturally, something I noted as we passed out candy at my son’s house on Halloween as my granddaughter went trick-or-treating with her parents in the neighborhood.

The bottom line? This is not a time to shrink or withdraw from remaining involved in what goes on with the government. Yes, I know Trump likes to boast of an “overwhelming mandate” to do what he pleases when governing. It’s total BS. Trump only won 49.9 percent of the popular vote nation-wide. Harris took 48.3 percent. The last overwhelming mandate we have seen in this country was when Ronald Reagan was elected president in November of 1980 by nearly 8.5 million votes, or almost 10 points, over Jimmy Carter.

As it stands now, we remain a fairly evenly divided country. The levers of power, from the White House to Congress, may be controlled by Republicans but that doesn’t mean the general population has to throw up its collective hands and walk away from being involved, especially as we are already seeing the feared march to autocracy as evidenced by both those being named to the new administration and the proposed desire by Trump to skip the review of those appointed by members of the Senate.

This advice comes from someone who for the past 50 years has been involved in the debate over the public agenda, dating back to the Vietnam war era. I still remember getting called for the armed services physical at Fort Wayne and telling my mother that I would be making plans to leave for Canada due to my opposition to the war, only to be encouraged to stay for the battle on the home front. I did. I spent my college years, classified by the draft board as a Conscientious Objector, attending a full load of classes, holding a full time job, working at a draft information center advising others (including active members of the military) who did not support the war and lobbying lawmakers to end the military draft, which they did in January 1973.

I offer the same advice I was given at the time. We live in a Democracy that offers us the opportunity to be heard, both at the ballot box and through our representative government, by continuing to speak out on issues of concern. It is not just an opportunity but an obligation to remain involved to help shape the public agenda.

We may not always agree on issues but for the Democracy to remain healthy and survive, a healthy debate on the issues is important. Resistance to something we don’t support does not mean just tossing sand into the gears of the government but also offering an alternative vision and course of action.

You can’t change the direction of the government sitting on the sidelines or moving away. If ever there was a time for a renewed commitment to work for change, it is now.