We are days away from the 2024 election. The good news is that we won't have to deal with all of the campaign advertising starting November 6th.
The harder to hear news is that what happens to America after that point is really up to us. Who we elect is a secondary concern.
As an example, you may have heard of people on the left who are talking about leaving the US if Donald Trump wins.
And I get it. His commitment to the Constitution is marginal at best. He has a well-documented affinity for authoritarian leaders in other countries. His behavior and incompetence in the wake of the 2020 election are a big part of why I cannot vote for him this year.
But if you are talking about leaving the US if Donald Trump wins, then please do the rest of us a favor. Skip voting and move now. He isn't the devil or a demon. He isn't a fascist.
You clearly lack the Americanism needed to advocate for your preferred policies. You lack the dedication to advocate for years and perhaps decades. You lack a commitment to our Constitutional republic and obviously prefer some sort of left-wing dictatorship. Please go there now so we can all be happier.
And you may have heard about people on the right who are talking about leaving if Kamala Harris is elected.
And I get it. She cannot communicate even the simplest of ideas. She spews out word salads that obfuscate and delay rather than directly responding to issues and questions. Her demonstrated performance in public office makes her barely qualified to run for county commissioner. Her failure in the 2020 election primaries and the fact that she did not face any credible form of primary in 2024 suggest that she isn't up to the task of being President of the US. And quite frankly her cover-up of President Biden's obvious inability to be anything more than a warm body in the Oval Office suggests a lack of concern for America's national security and a lack of support for the Constitution. She was ineligible for my vote in 2020 and absolutely nothing about her actions has caused that to change.
But if you are talking about leaving the US if Kamala Harris wins, then please do the rest of us a favor. Skip voting and move now. She isn't the end of America.
You clearly lack the Americanism needed to advocate for your preferred policies. You lack the dedication to advocate for years and perhaps decades. You lack a commitment to our Constitutional republic and obviously prefer some sort of right-wing dictatorship. Please go there now so we can all be happier.
For everyone else, 2025 is a new year. We will have a new President. They will get the support and condemnation they deserve. They will get support and condemnation that they don't deserve as well. That's American politics.
Maybe we could try something new next year and reach for a little more civility. Instead of calling one another morons...and much worse...maybe we could just simply say "I disagree".
We don't need a unifying leader. We need a unified populace; one that can disagree civilly as well as passionately.
Let's try being that instead.
A brief coda.
To my Republican-leaning friends, don't blame me if Donald Trump loses. The GOP had plenty of better options on the table. Both Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis come to mind. There were others. Worshipping a person rather than advancing ideas comes at a price. A Trump loss is the price.
To my Democrat-leaning friends, don't blame me if Kamala Harris loses. The Democrats had other options waiting to run. I think Tulsi Gabbard would have been an interesting candidate, but y'all drove her out of the party. Democrat politicians and functionaries have pushed so far to the left that they are pushing really bad ideas. A Harris loss is the price of moving from being a liberal party to one that is progressive and/or socialist.
