Throughout the 2016 U.S. presidential contest, then President Barack Obama fought not only his political foes, but also those who demonized him and who sought to undermine his legitimacy from the onset of his presidency.
He also battled: complacency; iterations of false equivalencies; the mindless conceit and arrogance by some that voting did not matter; the immaturity of some millennials peeved that because Bernie Sanders did not win the Democratic Party nomination they were not going to vote; and various other sophomoric reasons for abstaining from voting or spoiling the ballot as a form of protest.
A familiar refrain from Obama pleading with his fellow-citizens: "Don't boo, vote!" Obama understands the hard work of politics, that we are often faced with tough choices and that protest should help to build rather than harm or tear down democracy.
His response has always been to play a long game and to remain committed to the democratic process no matter how tough it gets. He would never advocate foolish responses like a mass group of voters engaging in a juvenile campaign of purposefully spoiling their ballots.
Many did not like the choice between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Driven by a noxious concoction of a false equivalence and a pox on the mentality of both houses, millions of voters decided to stay home.
Had complacent voters in key states voted, the nightmare that is Donald Trump would not now be visited on the United States of America and the global commons. His assault on liberal pluralism in America and a more stable international order could have been prevented.
Those aghast at the gross behavior of this egomaniac, who is now the most powerful individual on the planet, but who did not vote or who spoilt their ballots, bear responsibility for his accession to power.
Those who did not vote, but are now protesting Trump, need to examine their heretofore unreflective consciences and shallow reasoning for not voting.
Tribune Chief Reporter Ava Turnquest reported last week, "An activist and two scholars are campaigning for eligible, but decidedly unregistered Bahamian voters to spoil their election ballots as a form of protest..." The "scholars" are professors at The University of The Bahamas.

Lamented
A senior Bahamian and statesman involved in the struggle for majority rule and equal access to voting, regardless of race, gender and class, lamented what he views as a reckless and profoundly immature response to our current political situation. He noted, "In 1962 after years of valiant struggle and much sacrifice on the part of men and women of my generation who valued the right to vote, universal adult suffrage was achieved with every adult citizen having the right to cast a ballot in general elections.
"It is distressing and disappointing that more than half a century later, younger, educated Bahamians can seriously encourage citizens to throw away their ballots.
That the descendants of slaves and women would advocate spoiling the ballot is profoundly sad, and an insult to the legacy of those who fought for the right to vote around the world, including those who died in such struggles."
One cannot imagine Dr. Doris Johnson, Georgiana Symonette, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or U.S. civil rights champion John Lewis, advocating or endorsing mass ballot spoiling as a productive or creative response to disenchantment with the politics of the day.
One cannot imagine serious-minded professors and lecturers at UWI, universities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., suggesting ballot spoiling as an intelligent way of responding to the challenges of the day in the democratic commons.
The brave citizens of The Gambia, who courageously ousted at the ballot box the former dictator who remained in office for two decades, would find it difficult to understand why those who enjoy the right to vote would spoil their ballots.
Here are some of the arguments of those at home advocating that we spoil our ballots.
In a blog, one of the professors, according to The Tribune story, underscored that the country was facing an 'unmistakable crisis of representation'. He called for the return of credibility to public affairs, and urged ordinary citizens to realize their political power.
"Spoiling the ballot sends the nation and the watching world a clear, unmistakable message that a sizable portion of the country demands better representation and will not settle," the professor noted.

Arrogance
There is an arrogance here. It is the presumption that those who do vote are settling. Most Bahamians want better representation. But most likely do not view spoiling their ballots as a reasonable or intelligent response to the need for better representation.
The professor further stated, "Once the election has passed and the smoke has cleared, then it will be time to plan, organize and agitate forcefully and methodically for the electoral changes we want to see. We have nothing to lose."
Why didn't this individual lead a more forceful campaign for electoral reform over the past five years?
Why didn't he "agitate forcefully and methodically" since the last general election, all of which would have been more responsible than advocating a mass spoiling of the ballot?
Another professor, according to the story, "framed the exercise as 'seeding the revolution', suggesting that spoilt ballots could engender greater accountability in governance and future electoral reform".
This is the same professor who, at the last general election, claimed, falsely, that she heard nothing of substance at political rallies about policies and ideas for the country. Had she bothered to disengage her myopic bias and scotosis, and engage with the reality on the ground, she would not have been so blindingly incorrect, oblivious and ignorant - not enviable traits in a "scholar".
She still has the same false equivalence mentality. Not only has she not matured or grown in her thinking, she has regressed, and now advocates a mass spoiling of the ballot.
The female professor opined, according to The Tribune story, "The less involved in the democratic process the population becomes, the less accountable officials and politicians have to be. And as of this moment, no matter what the turnout, the next government will be elected by a minority of Bahamian citizens. Minority rule, welcome back home".
She continued, "You won't change the outcome of this election if you register and spoil the ballot instead of sitting this one out. But you will send a message to whichever minority government is elected in May. And it's this: We are watching, we will hold you accountable. We reject the bad choices you gave us. Do better".

Ignorance
Her illogic and historical and governmental ignorance is breathtaking. She does not understand the most rudimentary elements of our democratic system, despite holding an earned doctorate.
Her unfamiliarity with such basic information suggests that she cannot be taken seriously when discussing certain topics. Her ignorance about parliamentary democracy is alarming.
Not only is our democracy going through a rough patch, but our national dialogue is weakened when purported public intellectuals blather nonsense.
What does she mean by minority government? In our parliamentary system the party with the most seats forms the government regardless of the popular vote. The PLP is not a minority government, despite not winning the majority of the popular vote.
This is a circumstance that has occurred in many democracies with our system of government. A minority government is one that does not have the majority of the seats in the lower chamber, but that can still form a government.
How can she be so ignorant of such a basic fact? And she expects us to take her seriously?
This professor offered her political analysis: "Voter apathy will send the message that Bahamians don't care what they do. But a spoiled ballot, even if the counts are not released to the public, will tell a very different tale."
This is more than wishful thinking. It is belligerently naive!
If a party wins despite numerous spoiled ballots, they will likely care little about those voters. Political parties would love to appeal only to their base while ignoring independent voters who spoiled their ballots.
And if the number of spoiled ballots is not made public, what would have been the point of the campaign to spoil the ballots?
It would amount to one massive anger fest of arrogance, a temper tantrum, making the campaigners feel good about themselves, but doing little to achieve their stated goals.
The entire exercise would have been like what a friend who used to dive describes as a temporary feel good moment when he is in cold waters in the middle of the ocean; he sometimes relieves himself in his wet suit. He gets a warm tingling sensation. But it quickly passes and he is still in the same predicament as before, except that his wet suit is a great deal messier.
Next week's column will cover more of this topic and offer some ideas for democratic engagement, as opposed to vandalizing the ballot and democracy with sophomoric responses, the kind of maturity and wisdom that Obama, a dedicated student of democracy and political change, advocated both as an activist and as an office-holder.

o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.

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