A couple of weeks ago I was lying in bed
thinking of the conference I had just attended and the subsequent post on these
pages that would evolve from that. Then
this terrible thought struck me: NOVEMBER EIGHTH?? Holy Cow!
It appears that this time round I had certainly pulled the short straw.
I was
in denial for a while. Collectively, the
American nation has been strapped into the back of the car crying for release,
certainly on the point of vomiting, and constantly asking, ‘Mommy, are we there
yet?’ or, more plaintively and pertinently, ‘When the hell will this…be
finished?’
My daughter just told me not to expect a
large readership today anyway—which is what I actually hope for. Why?
Because we’re all so sick of these two candidates, and we are all so
nonplussed by what and who they seem to represent, let's just vote and get it done with. Some of us may be thinking, ‘I can’t possibly
vote for either’ while others will think, ‘that person will definitely get in
so why bother,’ and yet others will feel they just have to let someone else
decide: neither candidate is worth their
time. And all of them, IMHO, may be
right.
But political liars and cheaters are nothing
new. Ever since George Washington
pronounced, “I cannot tell a lie; I cut down the cherry tree” and went on to
charge the newly formed US government his rather enhanced expenses, Presidents
have been both politically incorrect and incorrectly political. One definition of political is: chiefly
derogatory relating to, affecting, or acting according to the interests of
status or authority within an organization rather than matters of principle. Even Honest Abe Lincoln acted in such a manner.
And then
there have been the extra-marital affairs of which we now know. That list is long and lasting. But will we forgive Kennedy and FDR, to name
but two, and not Bill Clinton? Does the
stretch of time make a President more affable and us more forgiving? Or is it pure and simply a matter of having
so much crammed in our faces via internet and telecommunications? Soooo…do we just know too damn much about the
present two candidates? Has ‘PRESIDENTIAL’ character just always
been an illusion?
Whatever
the answer to that question, we remain, to all intents and purposes, a
democratic nation, and voting is our privilege and our right, germane to
democracy. So please, whatever your
feelings on the matter, whatever you feel about those two candidates, get out
and vote for one or the other.
Keep
democracy alive.
And when
you’ve cast your vote and have a spare moment or two, find out more about me
and my books at
Twitter: @andidowning
https://twitter.com/AndiDowning
