Political Identity

I chose to do a commentary on an article called " When 'Identity Politics' is Rational " which discusses whether or not voting for somebody based on their identity, race, religion, etc. can be reasonable. Before reading this edititorial I would have never thought that voting for someone based on such silly things, like gender, could ever be logical. I'm not saying it is logical all the time, but for certain reasons, it is.

In identity politics sometimes people vote just according to things like sharing the same religion and dont take into consideration the persons capability of leading. They side by saying things such as " he is my brother" or " he is Southerner" so i will vote for him. Instead of thinking about the things the persons accomplished or what their views are they make their decisions without any information on the candidate. Though a lot of identity traits such as gender and religion help make us who we are they shouldn't be the basis for all decisions we make These people need to start learning how to vote as a citizen not as a tribe.

However as the writer pointed out identity politics can be positive. One example he gives is when an African American votes for a black candidate,not for the sole purpose of being black ,but because the candidate is more likely to identify with the obstacles he or she faces in society. This is perfectly rational because their voting on the basis of their interests not just because "he is one of mine and I have to support him". The author goes on to give reasons why women and Jews would also want to vote in a similar way. The author's point of view is as he says " all interests are special interests" and that no one can vote for a candidate without basing it on their own interests.