Waiting for November
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The nation holds its breath as the end approaches.
For the United States, it appears a reckoning is finally at hand. At every turn the body politic has ignored the path of tolerance and compromise, and chosen instead to dive further into madness and barbarism. Since the Trump administration took office, this country feels like it’s been accelerating towards an inevitable conclusion that we all know ends in disaster.
As the US is ravaged by COVID-19, and the economy continues to totter on the verge of collapse, one can’t help but wonder what November has in store. The ominous headlines reveal the anxieties of the people: Will Trump Leave Office in November? What happens if Trump refuses to go…
The people are getting nervous. It’s easy to brush it off as the jitters of a nation under stress, but that only raises another question: how much stress is too much? With the recent unrest it’s easy to forget that parts of the US were already suffering from an opioid epidemic. I wonder what will happen now that a pandemic is sweeping those areas?
If Trump was the response to declining jobs and living standards, what will be the response to 150,000 deaths and millions of newly unemployed?
America’s biggest mistake was arrogance, that much is obvious, but how far will it fall now that the legs are being pulled out from under it? As the Republican party– ever high on their own supply — smashes the gates in a postmodern simulation of the barbarians they love to emulate, the Democrats will do nothing but stare dumbfounded as their colleagues sell off the last of what remains of American hegemony for wholesale prices.
With millions out of work and no recovery in sight, it’s easy to draw parallels to the 1930’s. Whether or not the comparison will hold true remains to be seen, but what’s clear is this: the golden age of American dominance has clearly come to an end. These things don’t happen overnight so it’s no use pointing to this or that politician. It was a long time coming.
Now the abyss opens before us and so many never even knew it was there waiting for them. Others had conveniently ignored it, conjuring excuses for those things they could not ignore: “They wouldn’t be homeless if they had worked hard like I did. They choose to live like that.”
Modern fairy tales. Bedtimes stories for capitalism. That’s all it is. In reality the abyss was always there waiting in the dark. As long as the Christmas lights were on, however, it was hard to see. Now that they’ve gone out — and no one can turn them on again — the abyss grows beneath our feet.
The 2020 election will be one for the history books. At this point, Joe Biden commands a double digit lead in several key states. Trump’s once triumphant rule has faded into disaster as the country faces economic and social turmoil. Protesters clash with secret police in the streets. It’s the stuff of apocalyptic novels.
And yet this tune is all too familiar. One remembers the same confidence oozing from the Clinton campaign even as Trump was handed the victory in 2016. It’s hard to believe the Democrats could set themselves up for failure again. How could they fail in the midst of Trump’s reign of chaos?
How could they possibly lose to Trump?
