To rephrase a quote from President Dwight Eisenhower, California voters “must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought” (“Military Industrial Complex”) of the Republican victim complex.
The old California dream isn’t about the sunshine on the beach. It’s about discovery, innovation and the pursuit of betterment. The creative minds that came to California to dream of new possibilities built the fifth largest economy in the world, through Silicone Valley in the north and the film industry in the south, bridged together by the farmers in the Central Valley who quite literally feed this state’s prosperity. Republicans try to convince the tech innovators, the filmmakers and the farmers that they are victims, but offer little in the way of solutions. All that does is further seed the anger and division in this country.
Democrats are putting in the work to pursue the California dream. Protecting farmers by combating climate change, encouraging Silicone Valley to develop artificial intelligence, while pioneering legislation that protects the film industry creatives from AI exploitation. The balance is difficult, but not impossible.
Beware of the voices that cry out that the Democratic Party has abandoned you, cheated you, stolen from you. In the age of Trump, and his mini-mes like Spencer Pratt, Republicans tapped into a mentality antithetical to the optimism and patriotism central to the conservative ideals that were so fundamental to the Reagan Era: “Let us prove again that America can truly be a promised land, a land where people of every race, creed, and background can live together in freedom, harmony and prosperity” (Ronald Reagan).
Republicans today have a different view of America. Rather than aspirations of what we can be, the focus is on who is to blame for what Donald Trump calls, “waste, fraud and abuse.” The blame game and self-victimization ravaged parts of America where residents are facing real crises. Republicans like Rickey T. Hayes, running in Santa Clarita, attempt to parrot these cries of mistreatment at the hands of politicians, “Rising crime, skyrocketing energy costs, and a cost of living that’s driving people out of California are the direct result of failed leadership. I’m running to bring common-sense solutions, accountability and a strong voice for the people who feel ignored” (Rickey Hayes).
The trick is, if you convince voters that they are suffering in a place that has been run by one party, it is all too easy to get those voters to turn on that party. But the truth is, Democrats are not the perpetrators of American suffering, and Californians are not victims.
Eisenhower’s warning regarding the military industrial complex was heard and felt by the American people who bore the brunt of the corruption inside the government, but it was those inside the government who most needed to grasp the situation and use their power to right the course. So while all California voters need to hear this message, it cannot just be preaching to the choir.
I urge any Republican and strayed Democrat to sit with this and consider what you want the California dream to be, because you can see the moment we are in as California in dire straits. Or, you can see what I see: an opportunity to rebuild California in our image. Currently, there is only one party focused on that.
Abigayle Monis
Valencia
