Today is Election Day here in the United States. As it’s often being called, “the mid-terms”. Because it’s coming at the halfway point in the four-year term of the president.
I’ve never liked calling these elections “mid-terms”. Every election is supposed to be of grave import, not just those that might swing political power away from or (more rarely) toward whoever the President of the United States is. But for most of this country’s history we have made the president the focal point of American temporal presence. The person most empowered to define the country’s identity. And barring some drastic dislodgment from so-called conventional wisdom, that does not look to change anytime soon.
I’ve been asked quite a few times about what I think about this year’s elections. That I’m in South Carolina has made some especially interested, given the U.S. Senate race here.
What do I think is going to happen come nightfall, after the ballots are in?
I believe there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, by a lot of people whose candidates did not win.
I believe that there will be a lot of bitterness that will play out long after this particular election, and a vast amount of that will result in the seeking of revenge.
I believe that a lot of damage will be done to this country stemming from this election.
I believe that this election is the continuation of a trend that I have been observing for a very long time throughout my life, and that what victories will be scored today will be overturned in time after those wins have been weighed and found wanting on the scales of reality.
I believe that Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 has been the one true deviation from the status quo in recent memory and that much of what has happened since that has been unfettered hatred on the part of those who oppose him. They oppose Trump because he represents the first real change in decades and they are afraid of him. But mostly they hate him because they enjoy hating. If it wasn’t Trump, it would be someone else. These people are motivated by hate. It’s what they live for. They have been around for a very long time and Donald Trump has been the focal point of their hate for the past eleven years. These people are going to continue to lash out and destroy what is good about America no matter who wins today.
I believe that this election will decide how fast or slow America will continue to decline.
Regarding that previous point, I believe that America is in decline, that it has been for much of its history. An election isn’t going to stop that. It requires something more than that. It requires the American people choosing to stop the decline on their own, using their own initiative and devices. There can be no more relying on politics.
I believe that there are very few real leaders on the scene, or set to come to the scene. As a great man once told me, there are far too many politicians, but sadly very few statesmen. Let’s be honest: do many of the candidates for United States Senate strike you as real statesman material?
I believe that a lot of harm is going to result from this election, in one way or another.
But more than these things, I also believe, as Ronald Reagan – the greatest president of my lifetime – did, that America is still that great shining city on the hill. For all our foibles, ours is still the greatest nation in recorded history. The Founders gave us a beautiful form of government. Not perfect. It will never be perfect, not as long as it is made up of imperfect people. But they gave us a model of self-government that belongs to we the people, not to any elite or faction or party. That is a remarkable thing.
I believe that the true America will endure, so long as at least some of us honor its heritage and history, and take seriously the responsibilities that come with being a citizen.
That’s something that no single election can take away.
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