by Mindy Clegg
This month’s post might be shorter than usual, as the semester kicks off next week. I do want to address a couple of things going into the final stretch of the election season. Some historians and scholars have long debated what matters most, the zeitgeist (or vibes as the kids would have it) or materialist view of historical change. But is it really either-or? Let’s take the upcoming election in November. Many have noticed that there has been a change in feeling these last few weeks. At least some of that is embedded in the material conditions happening in the world, such as improvements in the economy, strong job numbers, and rising wages. Stories that explicate the zeitgeist matter, but so do outcomes, as we can see with the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine story “Past Tense.” If there is a vibe change, it’s not just down to attitudes, but the material conditions in which we find ourselves. So, let’s look at the changing vibes of the election.
It’s important to keep in mind that humans love a good story. I would even argue (following the thinking of the late Sir Terry Pratchett) that our love of stories is what makes us human.
Stories can help us to better understand the deeply complicated world in which we find ourselves. A good set of stories can give us shared meaning and direction. It can cement ties between people and move us to make change for the better. The Harris-Walz campaign has seemingly harnessed the power of story in that manner. Both have a compelling background that most of us can connect with, grounded in both struggles and opportunities. They seem entirely relatable, human, approachable. Much like in the year 2000, many people embraced George W. Bush because some voters thought they’d like to have a beer at the local bar with him (despite Bush being someone in recovery from alcoholism-something also rather relatable). While Harris reflects an ambitious career-driven woman from a middle class background, Walz embodies strong mid-west dad vibes. We got some of that from their DNC speeches.
Although not perfect (just ask the Uncommitted movement), the DNC leaned heavily into the politics of change and engagement by average Americans rather than deferring to the rule of elites. Harris and Walz strived to embody that notion of change from below and engagement in politics.
The human love of narrative can be two-edged sword, especially in the age of social media. The Trump campaign has shown that narratives (false, conspiracy-centric ones) can be deployed for destructive impact. Anyone who reads Erin Reed’s newsletter knows that hate can be translated into legislation that can destroy lives, as some states controlled by the GOP have passed some harsh anti-trans laws, based on conspiracy theories about trans lives. Many cisgendered women of child-bearing age have also been victimized by GOP policy decisions. The pro-life doctrine that Republicans claim save babies merely subvert women’s health, well-being, autonomy, and lives. For much of human history, women died in large numbers in childbirth, because bearing children can be very dangerous. The GOP would see us return to that state of affairs. They not only worked to overturn Roe v. Wade, they plan to roll out a national ban and proscribe access to contraception and other forms of reproductive care for women (whatever Trump might say to the contrary). They pitch this as a pro-life platform, but infant mortality has spiked in Texas, a state that has one of the most draconian anti-choice laws on the books. This just hints at how the totality of the GOP platform, known as Project 2025, would negatively impact the lives of millions of Americans. These policies are underpinned by Trump’s nihilistic narratives about American “decline” (a problematic trope if ever there was one, as we can see from the video below), and his bogus claims that “only he can fix it.” But if that were the case, wouldn’t he have “fixed” things when he was president? Besides, as Timothy Snyder has shown us, a strongman never fixes the things he claims that only he can fix.
This brings us back to vibes and materialism. Many have noticed a change in feeling in recent weeks since President Biden stepped down from the Democratic nomination in favor of Vice-President Kamala Harris. The excitement seems palpable for those inclined to vote for the Democratic party. Meanwhile Trump, after an assassination attempt, the RNC convention, and the hype around his own VP pick JD Vance gave him a bump, seems to be flaming out. Or at least the media has finally decided to focus on his shortcomings as a candidate. He’s now the oldest candidate for president, so his weird ramblings can no longer be buried behind narratives about President Biden’s age when Harris is at the top of the ticket. The media seems more willing to engage fact-checking Trump and delving into the policy proposals of a possible second Trump administration. The media has contributed to this shift in the zeitgeist in other words. For years now, the nihilistic politics of grievances and division that Trump eventually rode into political power dominated political media, at least since the Clinton administration. We were made to feel as if change wasn’t possible as the Democratic party embraced more centrist policies to attract centrist voters. In 2008, President Obama was able to change the narrative by running on a platform of hope and change, powered by ordinary citizens getting out the vote. Harris and Walz are running on a similar message of hope and engagement, as the DNC convention illustrated. Many on the left (not liberals, but actual leftists) have had a deep well of criticism of Obama’s presidency, feeling that his messaging never translated fully to legislative victories for the American public. They also object to his hawkish foreign policy. It can be said that President Obama carried on with Clintonian third-wayism. There are some signs that a Harris administration might be different. Harris brought on Minnesota governor Tim Walz rather than some of the more centrist Democrats on the vice-presidental shortlist. Walz has some real progressive legislative wins during his time as governor. One hopes this means that the progressive, transformative messaging will mean actual change and that Walz will influence policy direction on a number of important issues. Vibes are great, but far too often, they are only surface deep. But vibes are never completely divorced from material conditions. The trouble is almost always in figuring out how to translate those feelings into actual change. Both FDR and Lydon Johnson managed it, and Biden in his one term even managed some major legislation that’s had a positive impact. Let’s hope, if elected in November, Harris can do the same. In Jon Stewart’s podcast, The Weekly Show, he discussed the DNC convention with his guests and the longer history of political conventions. Towards the end, historian Jill Lepore noted that both people on the Democratic ticket are public servants, which gives some hope that their hopeful rhetoric could translate into political change.
Vibes and materialism need not be at odds, in otherwords. One can inform the other. They do need to merged in the right way to make positive change. We will have to wait and see if they win, if they can make that shift.
We should not pass up the opportunity to discuss the upcoming date on the fictional timeline from Star Trek. In 1995, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine aired an episode set in the year 2024 called “Past Tense”, set at the end of August into early September. While in orbit around earth, a transport accident strands Commander Ben Sisko, Dr. Julian Bashir, and Lt. Jadzia Dax in the past in the city of San Francisco. While Dax (who despite being an alien looks like a young white human woman) ends up “rescued” by a tech/media entrepreneur, Sisko and Bashir (two men of color) wind up being taken to the local Sanctuary district. These districts, set up all over the US, were meant to help people struggling with homelessness or unemployment by offering them housing, food, and job training. Soon these districts became neglected and turned into slums that people are forced to stay in. In 2024, a man name Gabriel Bell led an uprising in the San Francisco district. Sisko told Bashir it was one of the largest civil disturbances in US history but would result in real, material change that would lay the groundwork for the utopian future they know. However, the timeline becomes disrupted when Bell was killed before the uprising. In order to preserve the timeline, Sisko steps into Bell’s shoes, risking his own life, as the riots ended when the National Guard came in and brutally put it down, killing hundreds of people. Though they preserve the timeline and are successfully returned to their future, the three are shaken up by their brush with our time. Unlike many other sci-fi shows or films of the era, the 2024 of DS9 is incredibly recognizable to us right now. There are no flying cars or highly evolved androids, or even mega-cities popular with 1980s cyberpunk books and films. In this imagining of 2024, their problems are our problems. While there are not sanctuary districts in American cities today, many politicians seem to care more about “cleaning up” cities than about helping people in distress. There are bans on public sleeping and the police regularly clear homeless encampments in many cities across the country. California is preparing for the 2028 Olympics, and governor Gavin Newsom has decided that he should be seen clearing out homeless encampments without offering alternatives to the people being displaced.
We should hope that we can look at a story like “Past Tense” and manage to tackle our housing and homeless crises before we see an event like the Bell riots. Star Trek was clearly hoping to send a message that change can come out of tragedy. But perhaps we should not let things get to this point. We should hope that we can look at that example and make different choices. Let’s hope that the Democratic party, should they win in November, has finally decided to deal with issues prior to them becoming disasters. We are already living through endless disasters thanks to climate change. Trump and the GOP has clearly opted for the violence of disaster. Vote accordingly, with this knowledge in your heads. Also, keep in mind, voting is not the end of civic engagement, but the beginning. If elected in November and Harris fails to deliver, we push the administration and our members of congress to do the right thing. Presidents and legislators, after all, do work for us, at our behest.
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