After the post-election hysteria life goes on
Social media is a hotbed for post-election hysteria that becomes tiring very quick. But amongst all the social media hysterics, life goes on.
Australia suffered an election shock this past Saturday as the much-anticipated victory for Australia’s Labor Party dissolved, resulting in a win, and a third successive term for the Australian Liberal Party (for North American readers, that’s the conservative party). It was shocking because in the lead up to the election, Newspoll had Labor comfortably ahead and predicted a win. The crushing loss for Labor sent my social media into a tailspin with doom-impending gasbaggery akin to when Trump unexpectedly won in 2016. Unexpected for those who lost, but expected for those who won. But what else is new? Social media is a hotbed for post-election hysteria that becomes tiring very quick. Facebook and Twitter have become the screaming-into-your-pillow of the digital age except that everyone on your friends list, everyone that follows you, can hear you scream. I say this from an apolitical viewpoint because I understand that both sides of the aisle get angry. It’s ok to be angry, but honestly, tone it down, or at least find some focus in your rage.
The Australian election campaign is thankfully shorter than the US elections, so instead of a long campaign of putrid election sloganeering, fake smiles and empty promises, we get about two months. It isn’t to say Australian elections aren’t similar to the low-levels in which electioneering stoops to- far from it. Australia also has a multitude of unpleasant political caricatures. But anyone who has lived through an election almost anywhere around the globe will find that it is all very much the same. After the polls close and the results start to trickle in, social media is awash with panic, moral outrage, and virtue signaling. I’m sure it happens on both sides but because of recent elections swinging a certain way, we are often met with those absolutely outraged that people could possibly have viewpoints opposed to theirs- in an unpleasant manner.
“Good morning to everyone except for those who voted Liberal” and “delete me as a friend” are just some of the tamest of responses I saw all through Saturday night and Sunday. I cannot even print some of the hysterical commentary posted, not because their fears are not justified, but because the hysterical and often contradictory nature in which they present them nullifies any effect they have. On the flip side, there was very little from my friends who are of the more conservative nature, no gloating, no “I told you so”, no schadenfreude. For those who celebrated the election as a triumph of their beliefs, it is like any other day after an election.
Progressives often dismiss the concerns of baby boomers and conservatives as outdated and old. However, when they fail to acknowledge these concerns and instead focus their energies on solving only what they think are the problems at hand, they risk losing supporters. In the case of the 2019 elections, it may have been one of the reasons why it didn’t swing Labor's way. It is clear that after this election, the silent voters of Australia still carry a big stick.
The day after the election, I spent a good portion of it at the local market, doing what many do on a Sunday. Shopping for groceries and planning for the week ahead. The market was teeming with people, all basking in the sun of a grateful Sunday where we are still enjoying the many wonderful things we have in Australia. As I worked my way through the busy crowds of people, dodging the rushing market goers itching for a good deal on this week’s meat and vegetables, I was reminded that most of these people voted in the elections- from all different colors of the political spectrum. Many of them are furious with what transpired I’m sure, and some, happy that their political party of choice remained in power. But most sat together in relative peace, with only the slow service of the market’s food court clearly troubling their day. It was a reminder that amongst all the social media hysterics, life goes on. It did after Tony Abbott was elected in Australia in 2013, and it did after Trump was elected in 2016.
Today is a new day. For those mired in dismay, the hope is that today ignites your fuel and passion to fight a better, smarter fight. It is like any day after an election.