Our Long National Nightmare Officially Begins
(Apologies: This should be my ONLY political commentary for 2024. I will not dignify the process by either naming the parties or the participants. )
I write this on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. With apologies to President Ford, I think the nightmare metaphor is an apt one; though in 1974 we were able to awaken from it. I’m not so sure about the Twilight Zone of today.
I finally realize that I am an economically liberal conservative and a socially conservative liberal. That means, of course, I have no spot around either of the campfires. And that’s okay. Campfires are overrated.
On top of that, my litmus test has always been foreign policy, rather than whatever social issue inflames partisans right and left. I am not enamored with the military machine, ours or anybody else’s. Consequently, I have been at odds with at least the last five administrations; specifically, with Clinton in Serbia & Kosovo, Bush in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama in Syria and Libya, Trump in Iran, and Biden in Ukraine and Gaza and whatever else. Our foreign policy remains much the same, regardless of party. President Eisenhower foretold this. Whether it is motivated by ignorance or jingoism on one side, or high-minded ideological arrogance on the other, the end result is the same.
I long for a country that minds its own business, respects other cultures, does not seek to project power, or impose our national ideology on everyone else. Well, we haven’t been that country since Grover Cleveland, if even then. And I keep hoping for a national wise man, along the lines of the late George F. Kennan. We have one in Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, but of course nobody listens to him either.
So, I am never happy with the political landscape. Can you possibly imagine a person that is? I am content to be a contrarian, alone in my right-headedness. But I have always voted. It is ingrained in me. My dad first voted for FDR in 1932. He never expected miracles from the candidates, and was never terribly surprised at their foibles. Outside of some initial youthful enthusiasm in 1976, I would like to think I have struck the same course. More often than not, my choice is between the lesser of two evils. Occasionally, however, the choices were so bad, I opted for “None of the Above.” That is clearly where I find myself in 2024.
To support the challenging party means willingly suspending disbelief while standing on my head. To be sure, this is a minority party, though one which believes it is the “real America.” Just look at all those counties on the Great Plains that they get to color-in, but where almost nobody lives. “Real Americans” don’t live in cities, I guess. But within this minority there is a substantial majority with enough sound and fury to make a convincing Majority. But there is a catch; you have to believe a fantasy, and disbelieve what you could see with your own two eyes. This unreality is a litmus test which must be believed and affirmed. So, no thanks, I’m not ready for the jackboots just yet. I still have my wits about me; and my self-respect.
On a conservative-leaning news program this morning, I watched an interview with a prospective Iowa caucus-goer. She was sticking with the presumptive nominee, for, as she said, “he supports biblical values.” I suppose that is so, if your biblical model is King Ahab. I would hope that this sort of thing is an outlier, that his support has at least some roots anchored in reality. But I’m not convinced. Let’s just be clear: this is a demonstrably bad man. It can be quantified. I know it, you know it, and in their heart of hearts, I think (hope) most of his supporters realize this too. But, the fact is simply this: they want a bad man. Why is that? Outside of a grating sense of grievance, I can think of no other reason than they are convinced that the other side is even worse.
The incumbent party must be pretty bad for the challengers to believe their guy is the better option. To be fair, their view is a caricature of the incumbent party. That said, the incumbent party is completely clueless, and often foolish. Convinced that they are on “the right side of History,” they cling with puritanical zealotry to an ever-shifting ideology, built upon the sandy foundation of “change.” Meanwhile, key components of their base sluff-away. And national leaders in their party must espouse the most extreme version of their party, indeed, the very caricature, just as leaders in the challenging party must. Their occasional lip-service to democratic norms, while welcome, is lost amidst all the foolishness. Finally, this is the party that believes that the best defense against whatever a Restoration holds in store is to proffer a doddering old warmonger clinging to relivancy, who will track blood on the carpets if he shuffles back into the White House. Thank you, no.
And so, I will happily look elsewhere. As I live in Texas, it really doesn’t matter who the hell I vote for. Who knows what November holds, though it is a safe bet that it is nothing good. My instincts tell me, given what we know, that it seems inconceivable that there could be a Restoration. I know that is what the incumbent party is banking on. I’m not sure I would want to take that bet. But if you counter with a ticket as weak as 2016, you should not be surprised with a similar outcome. And so, this election might very well join a growing list of inconceivabilities that have come to pass.
I plan to be busy. My classes start tomorrow, so I will be engaged in “stamping out ignorance,” as it was once described. Spring will bring shrubs to plant and trees to transplant–as well as maybe a few vegetables if I can find an unshaded corner. Summer will bring travel and time with my sons. In the Fall, the stamping out of ignorance resumes. And there will be books to read. And my dog needs walking. To the extent humanly possible, I will be ignoring this entire process. For as we all know, politics ruins everything.