Slogging the last mile

Finally, we wake up and it is October 2020. It is the last full month before the November General Election and here we are. Many of us are getting that giddy feeling like we can see light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Just about all of us felt this way in the runup to the election four years ago. Several among us are trying hard to mute that giddy feeling and not celebrate too soon. Though it be a wise thing to exercise, containing our sense of hope for change is becoming exceedingly more difficult. Just as with 2016, the Democratic candidate leads in every credible PRESIDENTIAL DAILY TRACKING POLL. Unlike 2016, the Democratic candidate leads in many of those same polls by double digits among key demographic groups. Like 2016, the incumbent is tailoring his message to the very same voters in the very same fashion and is changing nothing, not even the candidate he ran against. It is hard to believe that the “Lock her Up” chant is still an audience favorite, however, Joe Biden is not Hillary Clinton. Unlike 2016, the incumbent now has a record to run on and all the twisting, contorting and bald-faced lies about it do not change the actual results of it. Ah, there’s that word, RESULTS! They matter. Chief among these is the BODY COUNT from the most mismanaged public health crisis in our lifetime. Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about all his other abuses, violations and outright destruction of traditions, standards and norms and all the wreckage it has left in his wake.

We have all collectively traveled a long, hard road since waking up on 11/9/2016. Many of the fears we dreaded have been realized. If there is any silver lining or positive to be had in this nearly four-year Reign of Error it is that the high water mark of toxic Conservatism was finally reached and in many places its stranglehold on power finally began to recede. Beginning the very week of the last election, several conscientious citizens filled with concern and consternation at the prospect of an America the forthcoming presidency would beget were motivated enough to become involved in the affairs of their community, state and nation. Indeed, on Friday of that week the local county Democratic Party luncheon club was packed out, standing room only. Even before Inauguration Day in January 2017, critical mass for the big blue wave of 2018 began to build. With every unforced Presidential error, misspeak and omission, with every poorly thought out tweet and policy decision that was implemented, with every incident involving the emboldened toxic rightwing fringe elements, the size of that big blue wave continued to grow. The widespread dissatisfaction it all wrought led to a decisive midterm Democratic reclamation of the U.S. House of Representatives. We can only hope that by Election Day 2020 the ubiquitous disapproval of the management of the Covid-19 crisis maximizes the massiveness of that wave and delivers a crushing electoral defeat to the incumbent and to many of his GOP enablers thereby restoring the Presidency and the U.S. Senate to Democratic control.

With only three more weekends to go before what is undoubtedly the most important Presidential election of our lifetime we must ask ourselves one existential but deeply personal question: What is the price of a clear conscience? This of course will vary greatly depending on the individual but the very bare minimal cost involves casting a ballot. One true downside of our cyclical American electoral system is its tiring nature. That is due to the fact that it never stops. Those of us who have opted to immerse ourselves in the political process know all too well how exhausting it is. Anyone who has ever stepped up to become a candidate for any public office or who has volunteered to walk a district for a candidate or who has phone banked or has prepared mailers or held fundraisers for them are invested in the effort to effect change. I am sure all who have been there will agree that direct involvement in politics is not for everyone. The work is not overly difficult but the volume of it can be very intimidating and often seemingly thankless. It is however all necessary. It also helps a great deal to go the extra mile on a daily basis for the cause or candidate in order for them to prevail on Election Day. Politics may not be for everyone but voting most certainly is. It is the duty of every citizen to register and VOTE on Election Day. That is what all the expense, financial and physical, is focused on serving. The democratic process works best when all participate. Far be it for me to condemn anyone for their religious belief or right under the First Amendment to abstain from voting, but anyone failing register with their county election board and showing up to their polling station to mark a ballot either in-person or absentee for the November 3rd General Election will be guilty of dereliction of their civic duty of the worst kind!

Brothers and sisters, we have had to hoe a very long row but we are almost there. If the challenger prevails I do not see history being kind to the 45th President or anyone who has enabled him to blunder from one mess to another. His self-serving policies and governance by tweet, his misguided priorities and violation at will of the values and desires of a majority of the nation’s citizens, his appeal to the most toxic elements of American society and, above all, his egregious mismanagement of the worst pandemic in a century are things we will not soon forget. These cannot be relegated to italicized vulgar footnotes in the nation’s archives soon enough to suit most of us. All the same, it is impossible for us to dismiss the nightmare specter of a narcissistic unchecked tyrant with access to the launch codes of the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet. The sad part is he didn’t need those launch codes to do so much of the lasting damage he has done to the American brand. The hopeful part is it all stands to come to an end when the votes are counted on Election Night. Let us all bear the burden of this last awful mile together. Here’s to a more perfect Union!