Politics is Not a Meme
Politics is not a meme. Stan and cancel culture has become increasingly pervasive in our political field especially in 2020. We have politicians like the former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley denouncing cancel culture at the Republican National Convention. Donald Trump often uses his Twitter as a press room to alert his base of his thoughts and his view of current events. Social media is how I watched the Democratic National Convention. Our generation has created a space where we can mix information and comedy.
In a Pew Research Center study done in 2018, 52% of Americans participated in some form of social media activity in relation to politics. These activities included encouraging others to take action on issues important to them, changed profile picture to show support to a cause, and looked up information on local protests/rallies are some of the activities listed. Fully 69% of U.S. adults say social media is very or somewhat important for getting elected officials to pay attention to issues, while a similar share (67%) say these sites are at least somewhat important for creating sustained movements for social change. A lot of people point to social media as a way to pay attention to the issues, while more Americans believe it is distracting.
In a world of instant gratification, social media, and an ever-changing society, what qualifies as a distraction? I would not go so far as to say that social media is a distraction but rather a deterrent from our ability to fully grasp policy. Our society runs off a supply and demand model. Social media has provided an influx of information creating a steady supply to match the growing demand for information. We can get answers in seconds through Google and that has shifted our relationship with consumption of political information.
With this attention, we have tried to gather as much information as possible so we can stay with the times. It is not that we do not have the information, it is that we have too much. In an attempt to stay abreast with the supply and demand of political knowledge, we have commodified the ability to interpret politics. We have memed and hashtagged a complex system in an attempt to make it more palatable for the people who need this knowledge the most.
However, in our quest for more political equity, we have deterred the ability to take politics on. How does one defeat a system they barely understand? This Chinese wall between our votes and our dreams was built on purpose and we have clawed every year to take it down.
We can take it down. The knowledge we need will not be found in quippy memes or hashtags but rather in the eyes of those who have access and in our own political action. We want to turn this wall into a bridge.
How do we start building this bridge? Repost the memes and tweet the hashtags but then dive in. We will not win this fight with surface level knowledge. Our generation has an invaluable opportunity to consume the information in ways that are palatable to us like in @soyouwanttotalkabout on Instagram. Listen to Pod Save The People — a podcast with a great slate of activists that I truly look up to like DeRay (DeRay Mckesson) McKesson. Brittany Packnett (@mspackyetti on Instagram) is another dynamic activist I follow to stay informed not only on issues but some actionable steps I can take to rectify some of these issues. Read the Atlantic and digest think pieces written by black authors like Ibram (Ibram X. Kendi) Kendi. Kendi coined the term anti-racist — something we all have devoted our lives to in hopes of a more equitable future.
This country was built over generations. Our generation will create a more perfect union, one where every American is proud to fly this flag, not just the rich, white, and male. It will take time but my bet is on us.