There’s a presidential debate on Tuesday and I’ve got to admit it – I’m a little bit excited. This reminds me of Frazier v. Ali, OJ Simpson’s white Bronco chase and the Apollo 11 moon landing. All were great moments in history fueled by the fact that we could watch them on TV.
Apparently, 90% of American adults plan on tuning in on Tuesday night. That’s not just huge – it’s a cultural, media tsunami.
I am excited, but that’s not all.
I imagine that most of the watchers will want to see their candidate beat the crap out of the other contender. For some, it will be like old times at the coliseum- the gladiator versus the lion in a fight to the death. In that drama, somebody ain’t going home happy at the end of the night!
Of course, I want my candidate to emerge victorious, but I’m kind’ve exhausted and disgusted by the combative nature of our politics. For me, the bloodying of one’s opponent has transformed our society (and me) and certainly not for the better. As someone said recently, the USA is already engaged in a civil war.
The older I get, the more I prefer softness, quiet and peace. Why must everything be fueled by the binary choice of winning and losing? I’m much happier with win-win solutions.
I guess that’s why I try to create safe, soft kind situations in my life. By encouraging community, creativity and listening to one another, I manifest the world I want to live in. And about that, I am very proud.
Yes, I’ll watch the debate because it’s exciting and important. But I might go to sleep before it ends. Truth is, I’m not one to believe that “the sky is falling” based on the final results of this or any election. Regardless of who wins, I believe that I will continue to do my work to make my life mean something here in Sullivan County, NY.
In this county, we are dealing with overdose deaths, poverty, food insecurity, housing shortages and lesser issues like arts in education, creative expression and the new worry that AI might make everything in this blogpost insignificant by comparison.
Call me crazy, but I think it’s very likely that the situation on the ground here in our corner of the country is going to be the same regardless of who is in the White House. Of course, the media has hyped this up to be Armageddon and I worry about the dire predictions, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s just to sell TV commercials.
My wish for the world? Let’s stop fighting and start fixing shit. There’s a tremendous opportunity for us to better our world for all people and all of our children’s children if only we’d stop beating one another up.
About that there should be no debate.
