Local opinion: We lost this thing at 'woke'

Democrats in Pima County hold no majority. Yet, in 2016, 52.6% of presidential votes from here went to Hilary Clinton, and then Donald Trump won the state without a majority of the vote statewide (48.08%). In 2020, Pima County voted for Joe Biden at about 58%, which helped give his candidacy a slim majority of the vote statewide. Then, the “Stop the Steal” steal began. In 2020, Pima County did its job.

It appears the Pima County 2024 numbers will be close to 2020. Thus, in Pima County, the electorate did their job to avoid another Trump presidency. We also did our part to elect a senator, while at this writing we’re not certain about CD-6. The point is, to my fellow Democrats, this was a hard loss, something worth mourning. Take a moment. OK, now you’re done. Get up. Postmortem discussions are good, but a better therapy is to talk about what is next. There are problems here that we can improve upon, but the real issue is outside of our county and much of our grasp.

The finger-pointing going on in the popular media is more about video news organizations flexing into a new administration. In the end, the folks in the back offices need to make a buck. The reality is not about policy, as this election was not about policy. This election was as emotional as a middle school insult fight.

Dear Democrats, we lost this election at “woke”.

Consider this definition of the term, easily referenced, from Wikipedia. “Woke, the African-American English synonym for the General American English word awake, has since the 1930s or earlier been used to refer to awareness of social and political issues affecting African Americans, often in the construction stay woke.”

Any study of our history will tell us that the appropriation of African American culture is inevitable. A simple look at our arts will reveal that African American cultural input is dominant. The now dominant political culture took a reasonable term that was useful to a minority and turned it into a curse word. That too, is as American as apple pie.

Let’s add a simple question. As dumb ideas are a simple force of nature, I certainly have them, who is to blame when a dumb idea becomes policy? Those with the nature for dumb ideas or those who can’t find the means to effectively oppose the dumb idea. For me, pondering this question leads to a better understanding of our history since 1960. Probably before as well.

The American Experiment gives the duty of governance to the people. This also gives us the power to err.

If you’re part of the 58%-plus in Pima County that voted for Kamala Harris, then you’re probably not back to normal just yet. A mass deportation, which Mr. Trump openly stated would be bloody, is not in your favor. The blunt destruction of our civil service is not your choice. The abandonment of those worldwide who need us is possibly terrifying. As the Doomsday Clock makes another move toward midnight, you may feel fear. You probably think that the acceptance of lies, admitted by the Trump campaign, is counterproductive. All this is rational in a nation that does not currently favor rationality.

The simple fact is that we can only do what we are able to do. We did our part this election, it didn’t turn out as we had hoped, and it is time to do more. We can start by not depending on voter disenfranchisement to hold power in the City of Tucson. Our mayors and councils have known what they are doing, but they favor power to fairness. When faced with a historically draconian state legislature, we can find a better way. Even in losing, we stand for something. Though we can’t do so in law, we can define a better Baja Arizona. By making a better community, we can educate the nation toward a better, more just and fruitful future.

We have a year to decide for our community, and then we’ll need to stand up once again for our nation.