Haven't had the desire to post lately. Not the first time given the fourteen years that I have been maintaining this blog, won't be the last I imagine. Not sure why, but based on past experiences, just beginning a post is one way of generating interest and ideas.
Forgot to mention in last two posts that I have now passed the 600 mark, in terms of posts published to this blog. I know in the past that I have blamed a lack of topics as an excuse for not posting, given that there is most likely no topic I haven't broached in the last fourteen years. However, I have a number of stories in process right now, so the lack of subjects can not be blamed for my current low desire to post.
In fact, one might say, as a life long Democrat, I should be, and certainly am, very excited and invigorated that President Biden showed immense humility and love of country by removing himself from the presidential ticket. As was apparent at the DNC convention, the Harris/Walz pairing has unleashed a flood of energy in what was a lackluster campaign to that point.
If there is one sure thing history has taught us about the American electorate, we are not shy about choosing seemingly unknown candidates to lead us, especially in the last forty plus years.
From a peanut farmer to an ex-actor to a high school saxophone player to the first African American president to a reality TV star, America has not only not been shy about taking a chance on someone new, we have embraced it. From that perspective, choosing the first woman president in November 2024 would not be out of character.
Whether it is because we have been a forward looking country since inception, or just because we tire of the status quo easily, it is hard to say.
While I am far from certain that Harris will triumph in November, it should not surprise us if she does as America will have made its feelings known that we prefer looking ahead rather than going back.
I understand the Republican party's strategy of appealing to how great the "old days" were, especially considering that our country is aging, as are most western countries. One might even say that this approach has been successful in a number of aging European countries as well.
But as I have said in many previous posts, this philosophy will only work in the short run. Living in the past, expecting the future will mirror one's rose colored memories of those days, will not work as the voters born in the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's are replaced by those voters and future leaders born in the last twenty years of the 20th century and the first 10 years of this century.
Of course, I have no doubt that should Harris win, the ex-president will not accept the results. Sometimes I wonder what will be worse, another four years of Trump saying he is the greatest president ever, that everything does is better than anyone who came before him, and that all our problems have now been solved by his genius, or another four years of him travelling around the country claiming the election was stolen, again.
Talk about choosing the lesser of two evils!!
I recently told someone that the excitement surrounding the Harris nomination and the shift in the polls since Biden announced his decision to withdraw, may be the first indicator that Trump's time in the political spotlight is beginning to fade.
He now represents the old, is not the "change" candidate.
He has begun to flip flop on abortion, knowing that he is out of touch with women voters.
His dark talk about America, calling it a third world country, a banana republic, claiming our leaders are stupid while praising the dictators of the world, not to mention always, always, always saying the 2020 election was stolen and that the people who beat up police officers while attacking the Capitol of the United States of America to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power, should be pardoned, not to mention his constant bullying of anyone who dares to disagree with him, democrat, republican or independent, is starting to wear thin. It is not gaining him any new converts.
I have expressed my disappointment with the electorate's lack of attention to Trump's obvious authoritarian impulses, and his purposeful attacks on the institutions of our country. He was, is and always will be about Trump first, nothing else matters.
At the same time though, I have also said that it will be the women voters of America who will ultimately decide the next election, and perhaps those under 35 years of age, but especially women considering the current state of attack on their reproductive rights.
And, should Harris win, it will prove once again that women care more about America, that women are more able to understand what our future should be like, and that a woman should be our default choice in any election when running against a man.
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