Onions or Ogres

Hello on a Saturday evening,

I remain in Bloomsburg certainly a couple weeks beyond my expected departure date, and with perhaps two more weeks to go. The subjunctive mood perhaps is because I honestly have no real concrete, predictable, date of the installing of a correct transmission and what will follow to be on the road. I am hoping by November 1st, but I will not hold my breath. Without an iota of doubt, I know I am at the mercy of schedules, hurricanes, and freight companies. On a positive note, however, the new windows arrived and are currently installed. That is a major piece of creating a livable space as I travel. Additionally, still being here made managing the wedding that I was part of this week much less arduous. And spending time in Sullivan County (the Northern tier of Pennsylvania) was quite spectacular in mid-October. Spending time with my former student on her special day, being blessed to be accepted as a family member by her parents and grandparents, made the day even more memorable for all.

As I write this we are 17 days from the official Election Day, though I have little confidence we will go to bed that night knowing who will be the President-elect. And let me say this unequivocally, it is not because of any malfeasance, but rather because of the continued data that shows how close the election seems to be. When states like my current state, Pennsylvania, cannot, by law, count early ballots until Election Day (2.6 million mail-in ballots were cast in 2020), it is impossible to do that in 24 hours. If I had even a quarter for every text message or email I have received in this election cycle, I think I could repay myself for much of the money I have spent on the bus build. As much as I enjoy the concept of political discourse, of the function of the federal government, and how we have, until recently, believed that our election process is safe, I find myself exhausted by the tenor, the volume, and the increasingly dystopic reality of our elective process.

It is this that brings me to both the title of my post and the real focus of this blog. The power wielded by the two parties in our federal system is untenable if we want to argue we are a government of, by, and for the people. I can appreciate what Vice President Harris wants to assert that she wants to be for the people, and I am even willing to go as far as saying I think she intends to be that kind of President (and I am also aware that some, even those dear to me, will disagree vehemently). I am also quite aware of their arguments. My reasons for believing her are the onion in my title. There are layers to why I either do, or hope to, believe. And yet not all of it is sweet, and some of the elements might create tears. Since she became a candidate, she has raised 1,000,000,000.00 (that is billion) dollars. That is both incredible, and asinine. Former President Trump has raised about half that amount, but that does not include PACs for either candidate. Open Secrets, an organization that follows election spending, expects that almost 16 billion dollars will be spent in total for the 2024 cycle. That is more than the GDP of around 50 countries. Think about that. And I am well aware that many in either side of our political spectrum believe we are still left with the choice that is the lesser-of-two-evils. I am not there, but I am still disenchanted with what we have become. I should also note I have already voted.

I do believe the political process itself has become an unpredictable monster, the ogre. It is completely understandable why many feel disenfranchised, disaffected, and disappointed. The consequences of these three adjectives is profound. At best people stand on the sideline believing their vote is irrelevant. At worst, they believe there is something much more sinister, more malevolent, at work. And that lesser than positive belief came to the fore following the last election. I am not sure if there is an idealism that I desperately hang on to or if there is a naïveté that allows me to believe we can still move forward in the true spirit of representative democracy or if it is truly that democracy is always messy. When I step back and examine both candidates, there is certainly much more than a difference in vision for the country. It is even more than a blue versus a red dichotomy. It is more complex than Federalism versus States’ Rights. It has become generational; it has become more complicated because of the reality of what former President Trump did and who he is in terms of both his Presidential conduct, which has been ruled on by the SCOTUS, and in his personal dealings, which do overlap his getting into office in the first place. That too is an onion of sorts, and it is dealing with the monster (the ogre) he seemed to create. Again, I realize there is some disagreement with my perspective.

As a rhetorical scholar, I am steeped in the idea of discourse, of coming to consensus, and I have strong feelings about appropriateness, about decorum, and about civility. It is for those reasons I struggle to respect the former President. I believe that truth is essential to creating the character of the person who represents us in the highest office of the country. I believe the Commander in Chief needs to show deference to those who serve in the military, support our allies, and exhibit a character that the American public can readily support. The number of people who say they do not like him, they do not like what he says or how he acts, but will still vote for him boggles my mind. Perhaps he is both the Ogre and the onion. During the last year, the decline of President Biden became such an issue he stepped aside (and I sure the pressure on him to do so was immense). Former President Trump has shown many of the same issues, but many want to say there is no such issue. Again, the job of the President has enormous responsibilities, expectations, requirements, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The reality is the Republican Party has been decimated by this supposed businessman/politician. And yet, while I am comfortable with the move to Kamala Harris, I suspect there are layers to that onion I might not like. The power that either the DNC or the RNC hold is immeasurable. Where does that leave the American public? Perhaps our entire political process is an ogre.It might seem that I am disillusioned, but I am not. This is where the onion comes into play. As noted, I have already voted, and I am adamant that everyone who has the ability to vote should do so. It is the way to make some difference in what happens. The difference in the vote count in Florida in the 2000 election when the Gore v. Bush recount was stopped by the SCOTUS was 537 votes. That was out of 101,450,508 (which Al Gore actually won the popular vote). That is a difference of .000529. The difference was less than 1/4 the freshman class at the university I taught at this past year. There is my numerical reason that argues your vote matters. And the 21st century has shown that we are an evenly divided country in pretty much every election since. The last real landslide in terms of the popular vote was 1984, and four of the most lopsided have been in my lifetime (1964, 1972, 1980, and the ‘84 elections). One of the others was Lincoln’s re-election in 1864 (history.com). The reasons chose for not voting are certainly varied, but feeling it does not matter hovers toward the most common. A recent study showed that over 20 million people do not have or find it difficult to obtain an ID necessary to vote (that shocked me); another significant reason is Election Day is not a federal holiday. Again, not something I thought of. Economic barriers (less than half making less than $20,000 voted in 2012), which can affect everything from issues of transportation to information, are shown to disenfranchise (Rodriguez, 2020). As the person with privilege, which I must admit I am, I seldom realize that my opportunity to vote is not what all experience. The onion is certainly more layered than I often see. The reality of our democracy, of our Republic as some are now wont to call it, arguing they are not the same, is we are controlled to some degree by the Elons, the Jeffs, the Marks, and the billionaires who control our capitalist nation. Have I been successful and blessed in my life? Yes; in comparison to the generations of my ancestors, I have. However, more importantly, those who control the vast majority of our national wealth, those who have incredible influence on our national interests, want me to believe, want you to believe, that. If we are content, they can do what they do. Again, all layers of the onion we have. Perhaps it was not by accident that my incredible history teacher, Mr. Larry Flom, used to refer to the Union (the United States) as the Onion. Perhaps there is more to the satirical news outlet being called the Onion than I first thought.

As we move rapidly (and perhaps not rapidly enough for some) towards Election Day, it is my fervent hope and prayer that we can, as a nation, cast our votes, support our democracy, and believe what we do as an individual citizen matters. In spite of the complexity that is our republic, that is our nation, let us support those who seem to be more vulnerable than ever, the people working the polls. Let us remember they are citizens just as we are. Finally, I need to give the priest at our local Catholic Parish credit for the title of my blog. Music and politics are sometimes strange bedfellows, but I offered this video as a reminder of those who put their lives on the line for our democracy every day. Semper Fi!

Thank you as always for reading, and please vote.

Michael