I am thinking about the future.
The future being the Wednesday this column is published, which is one day after the Campaigns That Would Not Die.
Here in the past, just a couple of days before the final vote, I can’t know the results of any of the many elections across the state and country. From the presidential race on down to local school board elections, I am in blissful ignorance of who will comprise our next crop of selfless public servants. And I kind of like it that way.
Hard to believe this dismal election season comes just a week after the joy of the Chicago Cubs World Series victory. During the games, whole evenings went by when I wasn’t reminded of how evil and greedy Candidate A is or how sleazy and corrupt Candidate B has been. As the Cubs and Indians battled it out, I didn’t give a thought to those grainy black and white pictures of the candidates caught in some obviously nefarious act.
But as election night approaches, I worry I might develop whiplash going from such a happy high to such a depressing low.
Although I hope after Tuesday, the election will finally be over, I suspect they won’t be. Alas, modern political campaigns seem to be perpetual.
I will take a wild guess that several pundits will immediately begin to speculate as to who will be running in 2018 and beyond. Some of these same sages have offered reasons why this is so: the 24-hour news cycle and the need for something, anything, to broadcast; the disappearing line between entertainment and politics; the necessity of early name recognition; the urgency to begin raising huge amounts of money; and the never-ending desire for power and control are at least some of the reasons we are stuck in this continually in-your-face political world.
To my mind, politics is a buzzkill even in the best of times, and these last months and years certainly haven’t been the best of times.
One friend told me the preacher at his rather conservative church asked the parishioners, “How many of you are ready for this to be over?” and nearly every hand went up.
The same question was asked by the minister at what might be fairly described as a liberal, progressive church with the exact same response. Finally, an issue that unites all Americans.
On Wednesday morning I will open the newspaper and, unless martial law has been declared or the U.S. Capitol has changed its name to The JPMorgan Chase & Co. Capitol Building, I will read the results and then get on with my life.
And you know, even if one of those scenarios does come to pass, I will probably still just go about my day. I’ve come to understand politics is not the most important thing in life. Besides, I have enough faith in the American Experiment to be confident that we will weather this stormy election and the coming four years just as we have gotten through ferocious political gales in the past.
I want to believe this election was an aberration and the next one will be more civil and substantive. I want to believe this election was a reality show and Tuesday was the season finale and the show was not renewed.
I want to believe the grown-ups are going to show up, swat these brats on the backside, send them to bed and then sit down together and have a rational discussion amongst themselves.
Yeah, that’s what I want to believe. And, you know, it could happen. Really. Hey, if the Cubs can win the World Series, anything is possible.
