The more I think about it, the more I realize how toxic this election season has been. It’s been going on for at least two years and the poison has been seeping into almost every area of our lives. Candidates are attacked not just for what they say, but also for their appearance, their spouses appearance and history, reputed misdeeds in the past and overall general character. There is continuing clamor about what a dire future we all face if either candidate for president is elected. The down ballot races are very similar in that the character of the opposing candidate appears to be the main focus of attack rather than their ideas.
Is this now going to be how we decide all of our elections? What a depressing thought. It can literally suck the hope out of the future. Thankfully there have been some events apart from the election that have offered some consolation. Baseball has helped. The sheer joy of Chicago Cub fans when their team wins is something to behold. Even though I am a die-hard White Sox fan, I admire the loyalty of Cub fans. They have gone thru so many bad teams, and so much disappointment, they deserve this moment. Even if the don’t win their final game, the season has been a great success. Despite all of the evil ripples caused by this election, the sight of Cub fans celebrating every small event seems to help and provide a small antidote.
The other was Halloween. I am not talking about all of the candy and marketing. I just mean the real joy of little ones in this season. We were fortunate enough to go along with our 5y/o grandson as he went “Trick or Treating”. He was a ghost, sheet and all. At time he couldn’t see clearly out of his costume, but he really didn’t care. He would go up to the different houses and say the magic words “Trick or Treat” and get a reward. He had a great time and so did we. He then went home and seemed to enjoy giving candy out to all the other children that came to his house. It was hard to say what he enjoyed more.
I remember what Halloween was like back when I was a child. We would be out all day and part of the night getting as much as we could. The costumes weren’t as important as the sheer amount you could collect. We would get home made cookies, brownies, and popcorn balls at some houses. We would pass on information on what were the best neighborhoods to go thru. No one had a thought about poisoned candy or dangerous items hidden in the treats. Parents rarely accompanied us and we were free to roam wherever we wanted. We would even “Trick” houses that didn’t have candy by soaping their windows or toilet papering their yards. It was definitely a more innocent time.
I think that is what I miss. Those days are gone. There are poisoned candy bars and dangerous homes. Even though those events are rare every parent is concerned. When we went out with our grandson, we saw almost every child accompanied by a parent. Later in the evening some groups of teen-agers were out but we didn’t see any one out alone. I think the fear of something awful happening is what drives this and probably what has driven the sheer awfulness of this election. I know that the media message has been about voter anger and desire for a change, but I really think each candidate has been trying to frighten us. There are people whose future is certainly at risk. Jobs in manufacturing, coal mining, even transportation are gone. The promise to retrain people for hi tech jobs is great, but the reality may be overwhelming. Some people have to work more than one minimum wage job just to get by. There is no easy answer for this. The promise of bringing jobs back may sound great, but what jobs will come back and what workers will have the kind of specialized training to do them? How many 45 y/o workers will go back to school to learn these new skills when high school is 30 years in the past?
When I grew up I trusted the government. Now that is certainly not the case. Whoever wins need to work on developing some sense of hope and trust and optimism. As hard as it is, I just have to keep believing that it is possible.