Thoughts Before the Election

 

I continue to be mystified by the fact that over 40% of the electorate is willing to support Donald Trump.  I would be less troubled if most of the support were begrudging - a strong distaste for the man but a willingness to overlook his character flaws to achieve certain conservative goals.  But sadly, this does not appear to be the case.  The greater part of the support appears to be full-throated and deeply emotional.  I find it quite frightening.  It is a form of brainwashing that is terribly disturbing.

I believe Biden will win, though nothing is assured, and polls are definitely not to be trusted.  The reason that I am optimistic is that it appears the number of people voting is much larger than in 2016.  I suspect that these additional voters are more likely to be people that have been disgusted by Trump’s presidency and will vote for Biden, especially young and minority voters who are probably not responding to poll queries.

The future is uncertain.  Even if Biden wins, much will depend on whether the Senate has a democratic or republican majority.  A republican majority will mean stalemate, with little chance of significant measures to combat our basic national problems.  The only area that will see improvement will be the pandemic, as Biden can mobilize resources and work with responsible scientists and clinicians to provide relief.

There is no assurance that the pandemic will be easily vanquished though, and the economic woes associated with it have not really been felt yet by most Americans. The country will face a long period of malaise no matter who wins, and the president will encounter a large backlash because of it.

When Obama became president in January, 2009, the Great Recession was just beginning.  His first two years were an epic struggle to prevent a complete collapse of the economy, the financial system and major American industries such as the auto industry.  The 2010 elections resulted in the House becoming republican, primarily due to the economic travails and the rise of the Tea Party.  Obama and the democrats were given little or no credit for rescuing the country from what could have been more drastic consequences.

For the next president, hopefully Joe Biden, there will be a similar set of circumstances.  The impact of climate change, racial tensions, manufacturing doldrums, rural stagnation and other ills will plague the country for the next several years.  The big question is whether the people can somehow unite in recognizing the challenges we face and work together to help solve them.  This seems highly unlikely in the current political climate, though perhaps once the depth of our national crisis becomes apparent a common spirit of can-do humanity can slowly emerge.

Our national problems and divisions are emblematic of a growing incivility across the world, as populist, authoritarian and nationalist movements grow rapidly and governments struggle to contain the explosive forces under the surface.  The pandemic, climate change, refugee and immigration movements and religious turmoil threaten the great gains that the world has made since the end of the cold war.  If nations do not quickly learn to work for the common good and people do not recognize their common humanity, then we face perilous years ahead. 

But human beings are often at their best when great tragedies threaten, so I will defer to hope as we face this election and the future. And I will do whatever I can to promote it and contribute my resources and energy to its service.