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One of the first videos I saw comparing the stark differences between the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention came rolling across “Morning Joe” on MSNBC early Wednesday morning.
It was a simple video, cut to show the roll calls at each convention. While the GOP demanded order and uptightness, the DNC had Lil Jon and a live DJ hyping up the crowd.
While the videos were fun – and funny – they were also more than that. They were a microcosm of the differences between the two parties.
The ominous, scary, America-is-a-hellscape-of-rape-and-murder-and-lurking-danger message from the Republicans vs. the hopeful, diverse, everyone-is-welcome, help-your-neighbors, mind-ya-business, try-some-freedom message embraced by the Democrats.
One is joyful and forward-thinking.
The other seeks to scare you into voting for the candidate that promises to marginalize and victimize all the people who don’t look, act, pray and love like you.
Seems like an easy choice.
Honestly, I don’t understand how anyone could look at these two conventions and not recognize the value and joy of inclusivity and diversity. Look at the crowds, at the delegates, at the performers, at the messages and at the candidates, and try telling me that the DNC isn’t the party you’d want to attend.
You know it is. And it’s more than that.
Because while some will seek to dismiss the differences in the conventions as meaningless fodder for TV pundits or columnists, and pitch the notion that politics is more substantive than who throws the best party, they’re lying. This is EXACTLY what representative government is all about – inviting in everyone, making them feel welcomed and heard, and working together to create the best community possible for everyone.
That is the joyful experience you’re witnessing at the DNC – a convention that has melded together the music, cultures, poetry, wishes and dreams of Americans from all walks of life and all different backgrounds, and figured out a way to give them all center placement and equal weight.
That’s the joy you’re seeing.
And you don’t get that by spending your entire convention trying to convince everyone that you’re certain to be raped or murdered because of whichever non-white/non-Christian group we’re slyly referring to this time.
You don’t get it from a nominee who wants to impose a religious test to enter the country. You don’t get it from a nominee who seeks, at every turn, to belittle and insult anyone who disagrees with him. You don’t get it from a party filled with politically expedient cowards who have sold out to a common bully who has proven time and again that he will place his own interests over those of the country.
But then again, you also don’t get that sort of behavior out of candidates and parties that have real ideas and policies to address some of the most pressing issues.
While Republicans were yammering on about how terrible America is and how scared you should be, the Democrats have been telling you that, you know, things aren’t so bad, but here are some ideas to make them better. Like more affordable housing, lower taxes, an increased child tax credit and cracking down on corporate price gouging.
That’s a winning message for people living in the real world – the one where we go out to work and ballgames and coach our kids and eat in restaurants and shop in grocery stores, and never really consider that rape or murder is imminent. The one where the Hispanic folks we encounter on a daily basis are hard-working, solid members of the community, and not the blight upon society that some would have us believe they are. The one where the answer to the struggles of the working class are initiatives that put more money in their pockets, and not yet another BS tax cut for the wealthy that will never, ever trickle down.
The contrast of the RNC and DNC has provided the country with an incredibly clear window into the parties’ current differences. And polling has increasingly shown that American voters are moving towards the positive, hopeful, joyful message that Democrats have embraced.
And why not? It certainly looks like a real good time.
