"Liberty," "Equality," and "Fraternity" are great political ideas. Such words were slogans during the French Revolution. They were flags to rally the masses. The problem is the words were abstractions. They were hollow terms into which everyone poured their own personal meaning. Did equality mean the poor and the aristocracy had the same amount of power, influence, or resources? Did the guillotine help the aristocracy feel more equal? Is revolution after revolution what we meant by brotherhood? Is Napoleon what we envisioned by liberty?
Our current political discourse is riddled with abstractions. "Hope" and "Change" sounded great to those who felt the government, especially at the federal level, had not been responsive to their needs. Change has certainly come, but is it what we thought? Do you have more hope in your future now?
"Make America great again" is another abstraction. Everyone gets to fill in the blank. Nobody wants to vote against political greatness, but what do we mean by it? Every citizen worth his salt needs to follow up an abstraction with a question: What do you mean by that?
Abstractions are great for sound bites. The politician is faced with the task of winning support in a catchy sentence or two. No news organization will give a half hour to a candidate to lay out his specific ideas. Too boring. They will lose audience. So, we think we know what we are voting for, but we may be just guessing.
Voters must take their obligation as citizens seriously. Be patient to learn what your candidate, at any political level, actually believes. What does he or she intend to actually implement? This fall, vote for the candidate who has described their goals in specific, concrete ways.
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