Two Weeks of Treading Water

We’re in the final two weeks before Election Day on November 5, 2024. Early voting has kicked in and reports are many are taking advantage. Certainly two weeks can be a lifetime in an election campaign, and as of yet we haven’t really seen anything that qualifies as an October surprise. The “take them with a grain of salt” polls say everything is tied. And it feels like we’re treading water.

The myth of the undecided voter is only eclipsed by the myths that we used to believe were the foundations of American democracy. If there are any undecided voters out there, I doubt they are persuadable one way or the other, unless Elon Musk buys their vote, harkening back to the good old days in Chicago when you could get a sandwich and a beer at the precinct office after voting. Yeah, the precinct chieftains also had pockets full of walking around money when extra inducement was needed. Somehow that seems more honest than the games we’re playing now.

Everything has been dissected. Repeatedly. Ad Infinitum. We know what we know. Unless we choose not to know. Too many have, and that’s our problem.

So, for two more weeks we’ll pretend when one candidate says one thing and the other says a stupid, offensive, nauseating thing, that this is how we prefer to choose our leaders. We’re not picking a president on November 5th. We’re looking for a life preserver.

Try to keep your head up.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.