The Black House Organization
THE B.H.O.

2020 Presidential Election

The Politics That Divide and Wage War Against the Love in Our Hearts

Pt. 1: EMOTIONALISM


By: Namie Bamba | November 2, 2020

With just one more day left until the 2020 United States Presidential Elections on November 3, 2020, voters--early voters, mail-in/absentee ballot voters, and election day voters--are all swarming to the polls in unprecedented numbers. According to the U.S. Elections Project run by Professor Michael MacDonald of the University of Florida (1), total early votes are 80+ million, in-person votes are 28+ million, mail ballots returned are 51+ million, and finally, outstanding mail ballots are 39+ million. Americans have awakened into ACTION through the power of voting compelled and propelled by their vision for the future America they want represented in the embodiment of either President Donald J. Trump or Vice President Joe Biden. These large numbers thus far, excluding the November 3rd voters, seem to portray the urgency and significance of this upcoming election cycle not only for the President of the United States but also Congressional Representatives, and State/Local government officials. 

This is the backdrop I come to you with, my domestic and international Black Family. Included in this election cycle tapestry are a broad range of issues affecting our people from middle-class, working-class, and the absolute poor and homeless among us. An exhaustive (not all-inclusive list) of issues that range from:

• Gentrification of neighborhoods in low income districts/zip codes
• Lower standard of medical treatment, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected black and brown people

• Police brutality & the Black Lives Matter movement

• Economic disparities in access to capital, generational wealth building, income inequality in comparison to our fellow White and Asian counterparts

I would like to redirect your attention to several areas in this mini-series about how the political divide we are seeing in our nation permeates our personal relationships affecting our perspectives of each other and love for one another. We will examine how emotionalism translates into both the practical actions or reactions we, as a nation and individuals, have to our political environment. Then we will examine the role of truth in this election cycle where ubiquitous fear steers too many people’s decisions about this 2020 election and frankly, also their life and relational decisions.


Finally, we will examine how our spirituality influences our ability to navigate all the tumultuous changes 2020 has brought when the world, our jobs, our education and healthcare systems and family structures have been massively disrupted.

Emotionalism

How many of you have experienced waves of anger throughout this 2020 election cycle
between annoying campaign attack ads on television or on social media platforms, to the 24/7
news cycle breathing down our necks about COVID-19 or the horrors of police brutality as we
are forced to watch another execution/killing/murder of a black man before our eyes, and don’t
forget the rabid reporting of President Trump’s (or “45” which is the nickname I’ve heard used by
many Black people with disdain for him) latest asinine, incendiary, or global stock market anddiplomatic destabilising tweets?

EMOTIONALISM
"If you cannot control your anger, you are as helpless as a city without walls, open to attack. 
A Proverb of King Solomon

This is me raising my hand screaming, “YES,” like the overeager child in class that knows the
answers! I am sure you feel the same way too. These events and our state of emotions,
fluctuating between anger and overwhelmed, are compounded by the following and MORE:

• Reports about natural disasters like the raging wildfires in California and hurricanes in Louisiana
• At the end of March, Federal economists projected job losses could rise to upward of 47 million (3)
• Back in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated skyrocketing unemploymentnumbers: “Of the 16.9 million people unemployed in July, 9.6 million (57 percent)were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to thepandemic(4)

So, what do we do with all these emotions coursing through us on top of daily life demands? How do we channel all this mostly negative energy that occurs when we hear, experience, or witness these difficult situations? Obviously, it’s vital that as King Solomon said, we don’t allow emotionalism expressed as anger to break down and overrun the personal cities of our lives and that of those we love, because uncontrolled or unproperly channeled anger is blinding and destructive.

Emotionalism is defined as “an undue influence of feelings upon thought and behavior; a tendency to indulge in excess, often morbid, emotion”; and “conduct, policies, etc. that are based upon feelings rather than reason.”(5) What I have observed throughout this election cycle, which started Fall 2019, is U.S. Citizens are so attached to and entrenched in their political parties, candidates, and ideologies that we have now reached a place in society where someone having an opposite political affiliation, policy stance, or even a candidate of choice antithesis to yours, is a jumbotron with a big red arrow pointing to you of the differing viewpoint as a target for verbal, emotional, and psychological vitriol!

It is plumb crazy and egregious to assassinate another person’s character calling them names like “coon,” “Uncle Tom,” “house nigger,” etc., question their integrity and intentions toward the Black race, and even so far as disown them for loving and supporting Donald J. Trump over Joe Biden or vice versa. Since when, did we allow our feelings to dictate our life and political decisions without balancing it with reason?

The spirit of “emotionalism” functions best by hijacking and suspending any sense of logic and reasonability expected to occur in any given circumstance or political climate. Scientific research has proven that people often make decisions with their emotions and consequently, experience various outcomes in different areas of their lives.

A Harvard University research study entitled, Emotions and Decision Making, stated some major conclusions from the past 35 years of research about the causal effect relationship between emotions and decision making listing the following areas impacted

(6):

  • The quality of our relationships
  • Sleep patterns
  • Economic choices
  • Political and policy choices
  • Creativity
  • Physical and mental health
  •  Overall, well being


I want you to focus on the three of seven impacts I highlighted in relation to our current political environment and your personal experiences throughout this election cycle. I want you to also examine your heated, passionate emotions about your presidential candidate of choice or the policies you think mostly affect the Black community, and begin to ask yourself the following questions in light of the definition of emotionalism (i.e. “an undue influence of feelings upon thought and behavior; a tendency to indulge in excess, often morbid, emotion”; and “conduct, policies, etc. that are based upon feelings rather than reason”):

1. How has my emotionalism affected the quality of my relationships with my family, friends, coworkers, or even people I debate on my social media platforms?

2. How has emotionalism influenced my ability to be open to hearing the rationale or justification for other people's political and policy choices OUTSIDE of my own deeply held conviction for my favorite political or policy choices?

3. IN what ways have my physical and mental health been affected by my engagement with the entire 2020 electoral process?


Until we meet again for Part 2 of this series covering PRACTICALITY, intentionally set aside time to answer those questions, even if it’s just 5 minutes (or however much time you spend scrolling on the phone as you sit on the throne in the bathroom). Let me know what answers you come up with.


Then, I’ll share some ways you can move from the realm of emotionalism where your emotions have undue, overwhelming influence on your decision to a more balanced perspective of utilising reason to reign in emotions as you decide who to vote for. If you’ve already voted, this information will still be useful the night of election and the day after, November 4th, when we all have to face the world where either Donald J. Trump secures a second term in office, like many people are hoping, or Joe Biden and Kamala Harris enter the White House to take this country in a new direction!


Grace, Love, and Peace to You,

  Namie Bimba



Author Bio: Namie Bimba is a 2nd generation African Immigrant from Liberia, West Africa, whose parents fled the Civil War and relocated with her family to the United States. She is heavily African, enjoying all aspects of her Liberian and other African countries cultures, yet also very American/westernized. She enjoys eating good food with family and friends, reading, dancing, visiting warm tropical places, and inspiring/coaching others to transform their thinking first and then watch their lives be transformed. Namie has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with a Sociology minor from Oral Roberts University, and holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Regent University.

SOURCES

1. MacDonald, Michael. 2020 General Election Early Vote Statistics. U.S. Election Project. Retrieved from https://electproject.github.io/Early-Vote-2020G/index.htmlMa

2. Proverbs 25:28. Good News Translation. Holy Bible. Retrieved from https://biblehub.com/gnt/proverbs/25.htm

3. Major, Derek. 21 March 2020. Fed Estimates 47 Million People Could Lose Their Job. Black Enterprise. Retrieved from https://www.blackenterprise.com/fed-estimates-47-million-people-could-lose-their-job/

4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2 October 2020. Supplemental Data Measuring the Effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on the Labor Market. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/cps/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm

5. Emotionalism. Retrieved from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/emotionalism

6. Lerner, Jennifer S. Li, Ye. Valdesolo, Piercarlo. Kassam, Karim. 16 June 2014. Emotions and Decision Making. Page 35. Retrieved from https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jenniferlerner/files/annual_review_manuscript_june_16_final.final_.pdf