I wish it was possible to opt out of all of the political ads and nonsense once you've voted. Missouri doesn't really have early voting, just absentee ballots for those that are or will be unable to vote on election day. I'm pretty sure that will include us this year and I'm wishing that also meant an end to the political junk mail, endless social media ads, and constant blah, blah, blah on the news sources.
Perhaps we (the US) need to revamp our election system to a much shorter time frame. VP Harris has only been a candidate for President for two months and has managed to mount an impressive campaign in that short period of time. Our party primaries extend the campaign season significantly, but that could change if every state held their primary elections on the same day or even in the same month -- say July. Then primary winners would have all of August, September, and October to convince voters of their value to be elected and we vote the first week of November like always.
I know this is a weird subject when my typical Monday morning posts are more contemplative or meditative, so let me explain how I got here.
I was considering whether or not I should share my thoughts on the upcoming election and explain why I will be voting the way I will be voting. It's still not real contemplative other than I hope that there is a lot of thought going into each vote rather than simply voting for the party one has always voted for or simply following the same media sources one as always followed.
I know that politicians have always cherry picked the statistics to favor their talking points and even told outright lies or made impossible to keep promises, but the pure hatred and vitriol now being spewed in campaigns is really too much and that kind of behavior and character is unfit for national office.
If I set all of the campaigning aside and just answer the question that is posed by the GOP -- Are you better off now than you were four years ago? -- the answer is Yes, I am.
I know that the post-COVID global inflation has taken its toll on many Americans. I also know that the US recovery has led the rest of the world and the World Bank has recently said that the strong US economy is helping to stabilize other economies, as well.
Statistics show that inflation has cost the average American an additional $28,000 over the past three years. They also show that wages are up and the same average American made $1200 dollars more in the month of August this year than they did in August three years ago.
I don't make a wage. Most of you know that I am retired. Due to the rise in the stock market, my savings is doing quite well, thank you. And with the Social Security adjustment a couple of years ago, that also increased to a more reasonable level.
But that's just me, and I realize that I am privileged beyond many others. It's said that you shouldn't ask a question that you don't want to hear the answer to -- I am better off than I was four years ago.
And I want the majority of my fellow Americans to be better off four years from now than they are today. I truly believe that won't be likely under a Trump/Vance administration and will be much more likely under a Harris/Walz administration.
I also believe that a shorter campaign period will be easier on friendships and family relationships. This year long fighting over political shit becomes nearly irreconcilable for far too many people. Political differences shouldn't be this divisive.
That's it for my Monday morning rant.
Sorry if you came here for something thoughtful and meditative. It's just what was on my mind this morning. I'm going to go downstairs and put in 30 minutes on the exercise bike and get my mind back into a more peaceful state.
sigh
John
Monday, September 23, 2024
Opting Out
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2 comments:
It's time for tRUMP to go away.
I hear you. Many European democracies limit campaigning, by law, to just three or four weeks before an election. The politics junkies, much less the politicians and consultants, just don't realize how exhausting and off-putting all this stuff is when people are barraged with it month after month -- nowadays, for about a year.
Yes, we are better off than we were four years ago, but people know that there is something fundamentally wrong with the economy. Most people are up to their eyeballs in debt. There are now more young adults living with their parents than during the Great Depression. Sixty years ago one worker without a college degree could earn enough to afford a house and car and support a wife and three or four children, which seems like an impossible fantasy today. A tiny oligarchy hoards half the country's wealth while the millions who produced that wealth struggle to get by. None of this is rooted in just the last few administrations. It's rooted in changes in the country's tax policy and class structure over half a century. And there seems no hope of overcoming this. The Republicans just want to double down on the policies that caused the problems, while most Democrats just want to tinker around the edges instead of doing anything fundamental. It's no wonder the mood is sour, regardless of the minor surface fluctuations in our situation under this or that president.
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