I saw this meme and I knew I had to have it for my Substack.
Because literally, wtf? I leave the country for five minutes and look what happens...
Also, how much do I regret reading Hillbilly Elegy right about now? I wish I could have that week in 2017 back.
However, I did just read something great… this fabulous NYT article: In Milwaukee, Black Voters Struggle to Find Home With Either Party. And I just want to suggest an edit… I think we can scratch out the word Black in this title and simply replace it with the word Sane. Not that I don’t appreciate the focus on Black voters, I very much do.
But to quote Angela Mallett, a Black Milwaukee business owner interviewed in the piece, “I don’t believe the system is broken, I believe it is doing exactly what it is intended to do for certain Americans and not others.” Savage, Angela. I absolutely agree.
But guys, this cannot be real life. How did we get here? Our president is senile and his opponent is… how do I put this? Worse? Hates women? A criminal? Inciting riots and violent takeovers?
My mom asked me ahead of the first presidential debate whether or not I was going to watch. Listen, I hate reality TV. I genuinely despise it. I hate cringey moments. So no, I was not going to watch the debate, because good lord, I KNEW. I knew it was going to be the most terrible thing. And I wish I was wrong, I really do.
But back to Ms. Mallett’s comments, when is enough going to be enough? I have small children, so I don’t really want the US to crumble or fail… but at the same time… maybe if it does… we can start rebuilding? I’m just spitballing here. Trying to see the positive, if you will.
Because somewhere along the way, our political system went EXTRA haywire. Alarms are currently blaring. These old white dudes CANNOT be our best candidates. That’s a literal impossibility. Can the majority of us, at the very least, please agree on that? I think the average American could find common ground with that statement. Can we, as a nation, be like: JUST KIDDING, REDO! And then start the whole process of finding candidates over from the beginning?
In other news, I feel like white people had their moment. And it went okay; it went fine, in some ways maybe not so fine. But now it’s someone else’s turn to try something different.
I’m trying to bring some levity, if you can’t tell. Because if I don't at least try then I will succumb to this sense of unrelenting dread and impending doom. Like, hello, the planet is burning?! Is anybody home? Does anybody care? I was sitting in my bedroom last night… listening for a tornado to knock on my front door, because that was the only way I was waking my children to take them to the garage during the literal tornado warning that was in effect. It didn’t, and we’re all safe, thank goodness. But what is happening?
And look at me composting and being like, I’m so good at saving the environment. Meanwhile baby sea turtles are floating around with plastic straws shoved up their tiny nostrils and the Amazon is basically gone.
My point is, what is the point? Does anybody know? I’ve heard a lot of people say love, which is the best answer anyone has to this question. But can we love these two presidential hopefuls enough to make them feel like they don’t need to run anymore? Is there an amount of love that will make this nightmare end? Asking for 333.3 million friends…