As a young child, I played with G.I. Joe. Not the new kind, but the original that had ball-and-socket limbs inside its World War II uniform. But I would never had thought to use that as an introduction to an inane diatribe against expecting the Democrats to be elected because voters approved of what they want to do to this nation. Then again, I’m not Roxane Gay.

When I was a kid, my brothers and I often played with G.I. Joe action figures. They battled and drove military vehicles, and though they were too small to reach the pedals, we positioned them to take the occasional spin in Barbie’s pink Corvette.

There was something very satisfying about action figures we could move as we saw fit and insert into narratives of our choosing. As inanimate objects, they had no say in the matter, always staring back at us placidly.

When I played with G.I. Joe, it had nothing to do with moving it as I “saw fit and insert into narratives of our choosing.” It was about soldiers fighting battles. That was the point of G.I. Joe. Of course, I had no pink Barbie Corvette. I was deprived.

A lot of people want to treat politicians and retired leaders — Michelle and Barack Obama, but also others — as if they were action figures to control and contort. For liberals, this arises, in large part, because of the dearth of interesting, progressive candidates who aren’t carbon copies of the candidates the Democrats have historically run for office — white, heterosexual men, often of significant means.

Is this what a “lot of people” want? Is this the Dem version of “many people are saying”? Granted, Gay is obsessed with race, gender and identity, as are a lot of people, rather than substance or competence, not to mention her slavish devotion to progressive ideology. In the process, she takes for granted that a “lot of people” are somehow obligated to take whatever they’re given and neither expect nor demand anything more of our “leaders.”

A lack of bold political leadership in this country, particularly among Democrats, has created the ideal conditions for people to play make-believe. This is also the direct result of voters’ treating their decisions as consumer choices, a mind-set that has trickled down from a donor class that feels free to openly shop for those candidates whose policies suit its specific personal and professional preferences and needs.

Voters want to dictate which offices their preferred politicians hold, what positions they take, and even where and how they live. It is fantasy football: political edition. It is also wish-casting and fan fiction.

Apparently, the concept of voting eludes Gay. Yes, votes want to dictate which offices their preferred politicians hold. That’s why we vote for (or against) them. That’s the whole point of voting, to elect people to offices where they’re wanted. This makes Roxane Gay very angry.

There is also hubris and condescension in assuming we can force certain politicians or former politicians to bend to our will the way the action figures of our childhood did. And while most politicians encounter some form of this wishful thinking, it is particularly directed at politicians who are women or people of color or openly queer.

Is it hubris to vote for people we believe to be good fits for elective office? Is it condescension to expect our elected officials to do what we want them to do once in office? Does it matter whether they are lily white or openly queer? It does to Gay.

Wish-casting your dream ticket makes politics facile and toothless. Instead of plucking candidates out of thin air, we could learn more about those who intend to run and what they want to do for us, and for our country.

Without finer discernment about whom we want to represent us, it is that much easier for incompetent, venal politicians to control our fates.

Ironically, she’s not wrong that it serves little purpose to wish-cast our dream ticket if they aren’t interested, aren’t legally capable or don’t have sufficient support of the public to make it happen. We are constrained to pick from the choices offered. Do we want the G.I. Joe that wears an army uniform or the one driving the Barbie pink Corvette? Gay knows who she wants, and the rest of us should just stop expecting our “leaders” to do what we want them to do and just vote for whoever runs, no matter what they want to do to America.