V for Vendetta Offers Hope Despite Misinformed, American Voters

“Words offer the means to meaning, and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?” – Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

In an attempt to drown my sorrows in alcohol due to the results of America’s 2014 midterm elections, and every other election in my lifetime, and some before, I put on a film I hoped would renew my hope in the abomination that is American democracy. V for Vendetta is a film that truly depicts the world in which we, as Americans, are imprisoned.

Our elections are bought and paid for by the richest of the rich. The richest one percent of Americans own more wealth than 90 percent of Americans, and it’s only gotten worse since the “recovery” from the Recession. Robert Reich’s Inequality for All states that 95 percent of economic gains in America went to the top one percent in net worth since 2009. According to Democracy Now, the 2014 midterm elections were the most expensive in history, with $4 billion spent, $1 billion from dark money sources. Of course, even more money was spent by the Koch brothers in prior elections to install regulations that keep certain people away from the polls. And once all the votes are counted, we’ll discover that less than 40 percent of the nation voted.

All the blood is drained out of democracy, it dies when only half the population votes.

— Hunter S. Thompson (@GonzoVice) November 4, 2014

Thompson knew where this country was headed better than anyone, and may be at least partially responsible for it. Our “news” outlets are in complete disrepair, spreading propaganda and shamelessly representing those who put the most in their pockets. And our populace has no interest in taking action to guide their own education regarding the candidates, which is partially their own damn fault and partially the fault of capitalism. Journalistic standards have taken a backseat to the bottom line, and independent journalists can’t afford to speak the truth anymore. Pretty soon every one of us will either be living on the streets or black-bagged and hanged for treason. After all, the government needs no reason to detain anyone anymore given the National Defense Authorization Act. And America’s latest, greatest hero, Edward Snowden, can’t even step foot in this country despite educating everyone about things we should have already known about the NSA’s data collection policies.

The difference between the world of V for Vendetta and the world in which we live is that people in the film eventually realized their news outlets were shoveling shit down their throats, and Americans just don’t seem to care – like pigs at the trough. You could throw anything at them, and they’d eat it up. Every American isn’t a shit-eating pig, but more than half of voting Americans have shit on their lips and breath. I don’t know why I’m not used to it, but every year I’m more and more surprised by the stupidity of most of this country’s voters. They actually believe the people they’re voting for have their best interests in mind despite those people accomplishing nothing nor attempting to make life easier for Americans year after year. Most of their time is spent lobbying big business to fund their re-elections. The lobbyists don’t even lobby politicians anymore. The politicians lobby lobbyists! Our Congress has the lowest rating of all time and they had the audacity to take a vacation to avoid a vote on military action against ISIS!

“Ideas are bulletproof.” – Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

There is hope, however, but I probably wouldn’t have found it without V for Vendetta. The hope is in the issues, not the politicians. Nearly 70% of voters in Washington, D.C. voted for recreational marijuana. President Obama will be lighting up joints in the Oval Office before the end of his term unless Congress decides to repeal the law, which they most likely will. Oregon and Alaska voters also passed a ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana, and Congress can’t touch those. Even the crazy state of Florida saw more than half of voters support medical marijuana, but Florida, like our silly Senate, requires 60 percent approval to pass a ballot measure. They got 57.6 percent approval.

In my home state of Montana, voters denied a Conservative ballot measure to eliminate same-day voter registration, and did so by a 14-point margin. Fetal personhood measures were voted down in North Dakota and Colorado, with 64 percent of voters against the initiatives in each state. Washington passed an initiative to require background checks for firearm purchases. Nebraska, Alaska, Arkansas, and South Dakota all passed minimum wage increases.

With all this hope coming from ballot measures, I have but one question. What’s the point of voting for representatives? I’ve been saying this for years, but I’ll say it again. Modern technology allows people to better govern themselves. People may be worried about the security of a digital voting apparatus, but there are enough hackers on the government’s payroll to create and monitor a secure, digital voting program. We figured out an online healthcare marketplace. I think we can figure out a way for people to vote on the Internet. The only way to instill integrity into our elections is to repeal Citizens United, implement campaign finance reform that allows third-party candidates a real shot at office or better yet, eliminate representation completely, and increase the overall number of voters. You can’t cry about the tyranny of the majority when you currently have the tyranny of the richest minority.

There is something terribly wrong with this country, but there is hope in America’s’ ability to govern, and given the right revolutionary vision, that hope can become change.