My first trip to Washington DC was a great one. It made me feel more connected to the founding of the United States, and what it should stand for. I mean, standing in the White House, in these historic rooms where countless historic photographs were made, it was hard to wrap my head around the concentration of history in that relatively small place. Of course, the museums and memorials also remind you of the struggle and the missteps of our nation, which are important to remember, not to feel bad, but to be aware of the history that we should not repeat.
As you can imagine, the experience also had the effect of shading our current state in a very weird light. The Capitol still has barriers around it because of the insurrection of January 6, 2021. One party anointed a candidate who lost the last presidential election, and he's since been convicted of felonies. In a more normal world, that alone would be disqualifying, but that's on top of the racism, sexual assault, disgust for people who serve in the military and their families, disregard for the Constitution, and a general love for the world's dictators. He has no interest in solving problems, only power.
Then, a little over a week ago, someone tried to kill him. Nothing like that has happened since Reagan was shot when I was a kid. Is that where we are, that a candidate is so terrible that someone wants to assassinate them? And somehow, getting shot makes him more of a hero, and even less reflective. A week later, the sitting president decides to not run again, only months before the election. In less than two days, the party almost completely rallies around the vice-president, and sparks a wave of enthusiasm that I thought was gone. It's been an insane week.
I don't recognize the USA.
In my lifetime, prior to 2015 at least, there was some amount of dignity and respect for the office of president. Also in my lifetime, regardless of whether or not I agreed with them, every president (though maybe not Nixon) occupied the Oval Office with the intent of doing what's right and just for the nation. George W. made some pretty horrible decisions, especially with regard to Iraq and Afghanistan, that we'll be paying for for a very long time. But I don't believe that he ever made those decisions for his benefit, especially in his second term. Clinton was nearly booted out of office for lying about his affair with Lewinsky, and today half the country entertains electing a man who unequivocally cheated on his wife and then paid for the silence, while also being held liable for sexual assault in civil court. In retrospect, maybe Clinton should have lost his job, but what the actual fuck is going on now? The mental gymnastics required to embrace a wholly immoral man are nuts.
The weird thing is that the reality, and I assure you that there is only one reality, is that the nation by the numbers is actually thriving. Unemployment remains at record lows with continued job creation, pandemic-induced inflation has stabilized, wage growth has outpaced inflation on average, crime rates continue to fall. People seem unwilling to see it, let alone accept it. There will always be people who are not thriving, and improving life for them is a necessary pursuit, but on average, we're in a good spot.
My country has become exhausting. I'm looking for the glimmer of hope where we get past this. For my entire adult life, politicians have appealed to people by having them fear a boogey man. It was terrorism, then non-Christians, then the economy, then immigrants, then queer folks. The fear mongering is not rooted in reality. I'm so tired of being told to fear. I'm a lover, not a fighter.
I miss the days of politics being boring, and not the lead story. The cult of personality is tired. It's time to move on, and follow in the footsteps of France and the UK and reject this nonsense.
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