Revised:
In the months preceding the 2020 election the small town of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania- also known as “The Bubble” by most of the residents due to the exclusive “Keeping Up With The Joneses” nature- was split like the red sea. A deep ideological divide was visibly obvious as every car was marked with political affiliation stickers, lawns decorated with divisive campaign signs, and the community Facebook page was a constant stream of aggressive and opinionated posts.
Fox Chapel was a hotspot for civic engagement and political participation, excluding- of course- any type of productive discourse, legitimate campaign work, or any general motion for change besides just loudly and publicly asserting political opinions. The strict adherence to political correctness kept things civil, but hushed whispers and lingering stares over differing opinions caused tension that spoke volumes.
This common problem of surface level social media activism- if it can even be called activism- can be symbolized by a particularly bold political statement made in October of 2020. A group of Fox Chapel high schoolers banded together to buy Donald Trump’s campaign signs in bulk, and then proceeded to drive around the neighborhood and physically surround every Joe Biden sign with twenty Trump signs.
While most of the victims of this outspoken act of vandalism simply removed the merchandise and threw everything in the dumpster, there was so much left unsaid after all the signs had been plucked from the grass.
This new era of politics, marked by performative activism and fueled by social media, is completely turning upside down the commonplace of the American governmental system. This shift away from transparency in favor of performance and outrage in the political realm, risks undermining real solutions and effective change to pressing social issues.
The historical context of politics at the time plays a large role in analyzing this behavior. The year twenty-twenty was an explosion of significant social events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the impeachment of the president. These crucial events were so pervasive into everyday life that high schoolers’ attention was caught, and a movement of interest and seeking of knowledge began to become noticeable in political arenas. While involving younger audiences in politics is incredibly beneficial and positive, it is important to note that the yard sign statements were deviant from this productivity.
The yard signs, as well as the way they were posted on social media with virtually no useful information or even a description to go along with the image (despite being edited to perfection with a filter) reflected an ingenuine and aggressive attempt at showcasing political party superiority, void of any productivity or substance. This specific trend grew as more and more teenagers in my area became involved in the political scene, the more it seemed as if they were doing so due to social pressures and to “hop on the bandwagon” instead of truly caring about the issues at hand.
This lack of knowledge diluted the content of most of the local activism in my area – which was paradoxical with the serious political issues at hand. While activism efforts historically have been those of brave feats of boldly and confidently standing up for the unheard, this commonplace had been replaced by people posting in order to showcase moral superiority, or simply because they felt guilty if they didn’t address a topic.
When looking outside“The Bubble” and into the general political climate of the United States, I realized that this picket sign harassment was a fairly accurate representation of the upheaval of norms relating to presidential candidacy, governmental customs, and civic engagement in general. Members of congress, senators, and even presidential candidates turned to social media sites in larger volumes than ever seen before in order to convey information to their constituencies. Coincidentally, at this time there was the largest partisan gap in approval for any president in the modern era of polling. Politicians strayed away from focusing on legislative topics solely but became focused on their popularity. Inflammatory language, vulgar rhetoric, and outspokenness was coming from members of congress, senators, and presidential candidates to a degree never seen before. Clearly this virus of sensationalizing politicians and their legislative agenda in order to wage a war between the right and the left seemed to be working, and spreading from the national government right down into the local government of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania.
Draft:
In the months preceding the 2020 election the small town of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania- also known as “The Bubble” by most of the residents due to the exclusive “Keeping Up With The Joneses” nature- was split like the red sea. A deep ideological divide was visibly obvious as every car was marked with political affiliation stickers, lawns decorated with divisive campaign signs, and the community Facebook page was a constant stream of aggressive and opinionated posts. Fox Chapel was a hotspot for civic engagement and political participation, excluding- of course- any type of productive discourse, legitimate campaign work, or any general motion for change besides just loudly and publicly asserting political opinions. A strange dichotomy was sparked from the months of nonstop cause for political conversation and controversy during twenty-twenty. Most community members adhered to using political correctness, deterring any aggressive discussions or confrontations in the name of keeping relationships civil. However, the hushed whispers, lingering stares, and consistent gossip were far more noticeable and divisive. This common problem of surface level social media activism- if it can even be called activism- can be symbolized by a particularly bold political statement made in October of 2020. A group of Fox Chapel high schoolers banded together to buy Donald Trump’s campaign signs in bulk, and then proceeded to drive around the neighborhood and physically surround every Joe Biden sign with twenty Trump signs.
While most of the victims of this outspoken act of vandalism simply became increasingly stubborn in their world view, there was so much left unsaid after all the signs had been plucked from the grass.
This new era of politics, marked by performative activism and fueled by the fire of social media, is completely turning upside down the commonplace of the American governmental system. This straying from honesty, political correctness, and factual information, all whilst moving towards treating legislation and social matters as performance, and who can be the most outrageous, is eventually going to push away any real solutions or effectiveness within American politics.
The historical context of politics at the time plays a large role in analyzing this behavior. The year twenty-twenty was an explosion of significant social events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the impeachment of the president. Each of these events caused an uprising in partisan participation and general civic engagement. These crucial events were so pervasive into everyday life that high schoolers’ attention was caught, and a movement of interest and seeking of knowledge began to become noticeable in political arenas. This noticeable shift in interest, combined with modern day technology and social media- which makes it easy to share your political opinion with the world in one click- it makes sense why social media became a breeding ground for young activists to speak their minds. While involving younger audiences in politics is incredibly beneficial and positive, it is important to note that the yard sign statements were deviant from this productivity.
The yard signs, as well as the way they were posted on social media with virtually no useful information or even a description to go along with the image (that was, of course, edited to perfection with a filter in order to match the rest of the vandalists social media page) reflected an ingenuine and aggressive attempt at showcasing political party superiority, void of any productivity or substance. This specific trend grew as more and more teenagers in my area became involved in the political scene, the more it seemed as if they were doing so due to social pressures and to “hop on the bandwagon” instead of truly caring about the issues at hand.
This lack of knowledge diluted the content of most of the local activism in my area – which was paradoxical with the serious political issues at hand. While activism efforts historically have been those of brave feats of boldly and confidently standing up for the unheard, this commonplace had been replaced by people posting in order to showcase moral superiority, or simply because they felt guilty if they didn’t address a topic. These questions caused me to look outside of “The Bubble” and into the general political climate of the United States, which led to the realization that this picket sign harassment was a fairly accurate representation of the upheaval of norms relating to presidential candidacy, governmental customs, and civic engagement in general. Members of congress, senators, and even (especially) presidential candidates turned to social media sites in larger volumes than ever seen before in order to convey information to their constituencies. Coincidentally, at this time there was the largest partisan gap in approval for any president in the modern era of polling. Politicians, similar to the vandalists in my neighborhood, strayed away from focusing on legislative topics solely, but became focused on their popularity. Inflammatory language, vulgar rhetoric, and outspokenness was coming from members of congress, senators, and presidential candidates to a degree never seen before. Clearly this virus of sensationalizing politicians and their legislative agenda in order to wage a war between the right and the left seemed to be working, and spreading from the national government right down into the local government of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania.
