The Great Escape arrives at your polling place on November 3rd
Stephen Colbert joked in mid-September about Joe Biden being so cool (in an old-guy way) that he hopped “into the sidecar of Steve McQueen’s motorcycle and jumped a fence.”
I wondered if younger people would get the reference to The Great Escape and its iconic 1963 chase scene. Folks my age may remember the thrill of Steve McQueen outrunning the Nazis and sailing on his Triumph over razorwire and into Switzerland. In a quick survey of my Millennial kids and their circle, no one got it.
I went back and watched the scene on YouTube. I’d forgotten that McQueen doesn’t make it. He clears the first fence — but lands in no-man’s land and skids into a second fence. Our hero has to surrender to his captors.
He can’t escape, after all.
Neither can we.
We can’t escape the fires, drought, heat, hurricanes, windstorms, and rising sea levels caused and exacerbated by climate change.
We can’t escape the implacable Mitch McConnell and his henchmen in the United States Senate, stacking our future with extreme and shockingly inexperienced right-wing judges — now including the seismic consequences of replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court.
We can’t escape the daily lies and threats and conspiracy theories streaming from the current occupant of the White House.
The Great Escape was based on fact. Of the 76 POWs who tunneled out of Stalag Luft III in Poland in 1942, the Nazis caught and executed fifty men. Only three made it to freedom. The remaining 23 were recaptured. They went right back to their high-security prison camp designed to contain Allied Air Force officers who had escaped repeatedly from other camps.
We do have one escape route from the constitutional crisis that Trump and his complicit circle of Republicans have created. It comes on November 3rd. Our vote is our tunnel to freedom.
Like the men in the camp, we must build that passageway with care. Trump’s Republicans are doing everything they can to make voting difficult. They cry “fraud!” and “rigged!” Trump sows doubt about peacefully transferring his office if Joe Biden wins. Republican lawyers make plans to challenge the electoral results in every conceivable way.
Voters must make our own plans. Here in Utah, vote-by-mail is tried-and-true and safe. Voting in person may be even safer and worth the Covid risk to ensure your vote is counted on Election Day.
And just like the seething and imprisoned soldiers in the classic film, we feel better when we take action. There are endless ways to make this election a landslide for honesty, for the rule of law, for the dignity of public service, and for the restoration of the norms we depend on to make government work.
Write postcards and letters with Postcards to Voters and Vote Forward to get accurate information to voters across the country. Call voters in swing states through the Progressive Turnout Project, Swing Left, Flip the West, and Indivisible. Ensure a fair election both before and after November 3rd with Hold the Line. Here in Utah, local races matter most. Connect with your favorite candidate and volunteer.
If you aren’t in a high-risk group for Covid, volunteer to register voters with Salt Lake Indivisible. Volunteer as a poll worker or watcher on Election Day.
In The Great Escape, Steve McQueen’s character is nicknamed “The Cooler King.” He gets thrown in “the cooler” after every failed escape. The movie ends with McQueen back in solitary, undaunted, planning his next run to freedom.
That’s our job, as well. Don’t give in to despair. Races can be won and lost with a handful of votes. Shore up our escape route with your good work. You’ll feel empowered. Your words count. Persuading just a few others to side with democracy will help save the republic.
Stephen Trimble lives in Salt Lake City and Torrey, Utah. He staves off despair by volunteering to help elect progressive candidates.
