The midterm election is just days away. Voting has already started and the campaigning has revved up to Mach 10. Flyers fill our mailboxes, negative ads clog our social media feeds, and politicians continue to trade insults on the airwaves.
The most irritating part, besides the obscene amounts of money being spent, is that all those efforts contain so many lies. For example, a 25-year-old candidate in Southeast Iowa falsely claims that his opponent is responsible for the increase in gas and grocery prices. Does this kid not know about the war in Iran or Trump’s tariffs? This same guy was a no-show for a debate in our small town because it was – get this –organized by women. The real reason, no doubt, is that given his age and lack of life experience, he wouldn’t stand a chance debating a longtime businessman and former mayor.
Also in Iowa, a senate candidate lied about selling all her stocks when she entered office as a U.S. congresswoman and is now trying to explain away how her net worth has since increased by millions.
Then there’s the Kansas-dwelling candidate for governor twisting the truth to make people believe he lives in Iowa. There are too many examples like this to mention, and while I don’t mean to single out any party, it happens that almost all of them involve Republicans. Maybe they’re just following the example of the Liar-in-Chief who swears he’s not in the Epstein files even when there’s written proof his name appears in there thirty-eight thousand times.
While we cling to the hope that a Blue Wave will save our American democracy, we’re also getting hammered with news about how humanity is headed for extinction. One former researcher at Anthropic went so far as to claim that AI will wipe out the human race by 2030. Others say if not extinction, we can at least expect a wave of catastrophes.
If we’re so doomed, then why bother voting in the midterms? Why even bother getting out of bed?
Because as long as we are still alive, we have to keep trying. And by trying I mean voting for candidates who value empathy over cruelty, honesty and integrity over the quest for political power, and who are more concerned about our planet than profits. When politicians favor business interests by refusing to regulate – worse, removing regulations already in place – that protect our environment, we might as well get our affairs in order.
Here in Iowa, we have the second highest cancer rate in the country. Why? Because corporations place more importance on increasing shareholder value than improving our health and safely. They’d rather settle billion dollar lawsuits and continue destroying our habitat and our bloodstreams. Microplastics, anyone? Don’t these greedy executives, and the politicians who support them, worry about the future of their kids and grandkids?
Money is not going to save us. Ensuring we have food that won’t make us sick, water that’s fit to drink, and clean air to breathe should be the number one priority. Thankfully in Iowa we have a candidate for Secretary of Agriculture who has brought these issues to the forefront. Yes, he’s a Democrat.
We also have a gubernatorial candidate, an Independent-leaning Democrat, who places an importance on a middle ground. I’ve been hoping for that middle ground for a long time as the trend of political -- and cultural -- polarization has been destructive not only to our country but to our personal relationships.
When I turned 18 and had my first chance to vote, I didn’t exercise my right. I didn’t understand how much it matters and couldn’t be bothered. I cared more about chasing boys and getting through my first year of college and didn’t think the outcome would affect me. That was the year Ronald Reagan was elected as president and turns out his policies, like eliminating mental health services and implementing trickle-down economics, have affected not just me and my family, they’ve had a detrimental domino effect on our entire society ever since. In the past four and a half decades we’ve seen a rise in homelessness, suicide rates, drug use, and the national debt.
As for the trickle down? Look how that’s gone. There are more billionaires than ever, and instead of their wealth boosting the economy, percentage-wise they are paying fewer taxes than those of us who can’t afford health insurance or rent.
I learned my lesson from that. Voting really does matter. We are lucky to have—still have—the right to vote. I just hope that this time around the majority of Americans will vote for candidates who demonstrate compassion and kindness toward others no matter what color their skin or sexual orientation. Who will fight to protect sacred land and not desecrate it to build border walls. Who will champion policies that allow women to make their own choices about their bodies. Who will uphold the constitution. Who have the courage to show up for a small-town debate.
This will all be over soon, if not our entire existence on earth, at least this round of elections. So please get out there and vote today. Vote like your life depends on it. Because it literally does.
Beth M. Howard is an author and filmmaker who lives in Donnellson, Iowa. Her website is The World Needs More Pie.
The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of TSPR or its license holder, Western Illinois University.
Diverse viewpoints are welcomed and encouraged.