Being woke has become a tool

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2019 (2230 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“I get a sense among certain young people on social media that the way of making change is to be as judgemental as possible about other people.

“If I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb, then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself because ‘Man did you see how woke I was? I called you out!’”

I truly miss the wisdom of President Barack Obama who made the above statement to the assembled masses at his annual Obama Foundation event in Chicago this week. While we can debate the achievements and disappointments of his presidency, we should all agree that he acted with the appropriate behaviour befitting the office and, as this case attests, was incredibly insightful.

Woke culture, as it is known, is essentially presenting oneself as being aware of all manner of racial and social injustices in the world. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, being aware of the social ills facing us is a highly admirable trait. Sadly, being woke has become a tool by which self-aggrandizing social warriors diminish others for not being woke enough.

Let me give you an example — consider the California Democratic crowd that recently booed former vice-president Joe Biden. They viewed him, a man who has served his party half a century, as not being ideologically pure enough for them.

Similarly, socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg have both been booed in the past for saying “all lives matter” rather than stating “black lives matter.” These two men, whom I assume were attempting to say that all lives have value, were reprimanded for daring to speak beyond the issue of police violence toward black men to the larger issues of a violent society, respect for all people and the need to breakdown the barriers that divide Americans.

They didn’t use the right words. They weren’t ideologically pure enough for the protesters. This, my friends, is a major reason why the Democrats may fail to regain the White House in 2020.

Donald Trump should be the best thing to happen to Democrats since Richard Nixon and yet they are failing to capitalize on this opportunity. He is consistently polling in the very low 40 per cent range in national favourable/unfavourable polls. Rather than expanding on his base, Trump has pursued a strategy of reinforcing the base and excluding anyone who may be independent, moderate or reachable.

In simple terms, Trump’s Republican Party is a small tent that has little room for moderates. His strategy and tactics have consistently pushed others away. The numbers prove this.

This obviously provides an opportunity for Democrats to swoop in and bring those moderates into their tent. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case. Rather, it looks as though purity tests are being applied party-wide to determine if candidates are sufficiently woke enough. It went so far earlier this year that, during a televised debate, Democratic presidential candidates did everything they could to create distance between themselves and Obama. While this worrisome trend rectified itself in debates since, I believe it to be indicative of a party that has lost its moorings.

The outward-looking face of the Democrats is “The Squad,” four newly-elected congresswomen who have forged a media presence far beyond the weight of their ideas. They are, admittedly, on the left wing of their party.

It would be extremely hard for any but the most informed politico to name anyone on the right side of the Democratic Party. In other words, both parties are polarizing. Perhaps this is suggestive of a society in which people are angrier and creating their own tribes, but it also feels like a missed opportunity to build a broader coalition.

We are witnessing similar trends here in Canada among so many political parties, in western isolation and separation talk, the resurrection of the Bloc and so on. We are talking past each other, and this is worrisome.

My hope is that Democrats can right their ship and present a reasonable, electable alternative to President Trump. If not, then his rabid, polarizing rhetoric could keep him in the White House. I miss Barack…