Hi, reader.
This is another case where I’m stuck a few days behind you, peering fitfully into my crystal ball, wondering what the world of Two-Days-Hence will hold, especially as it relates to the presidential election.
It appears increasingly likely that Joe Biden will have an opportunity in the nation’s top seat, provided states where ballots are still being counted continue to tilt his way.
But given President Trump’s continued calls to “STOP THE COUNT!” (in defiance of all democratic norms, by the way), it also appears likely that some part of the process will end up mired in lawsuits and adjudicated in court.
Regardless of how that shakes out, the eventual winner will face the same intractable issues.
First, America is a country divided. Blame it on ginned-up rhetoric, social-media disinformation campaigns, the competing realities of FOX News and MSNBC, or an alleged lack of civics education, but whoever takes the oath of office in January will have to contend with a sizable demographic that hates him and sees him as the Great Satan.
Second, America is still in the middle of a raging pandemic, and any corner that we might be turning is taking us in the wrong direction. A sensible compromise has to exist between utter disregard for public health and a complete lockdown. It would help to have federal leadership that acknowledges science even as it recognizes the importance of financial solvency and mental health. Most people will do the right thing when they see it modeled by sensible leaders who provide a sane rationale. No draconian lockdowns are necessary when people take the right steps voluntarily.
Third, racial tensions are inflamed. Many people cannot see that it is possible to support law enforcement but still recognize systemic racism in its midst. It is not a binary choice to support police or Black Lives Matter. Policing is in need of reform, if only so officers don’t find themselves dealing with issues best left to mental health experts. Frank discussions about how to reform — not defund — police departments to keep both officers and citizens — and especially citizens of color — safe are long overdue.
Fourth, hunger. In one of the most prosperous nations in the world, it is unacceptable that more than 35 million people struggled with hunger in 2019, a number that may balloon to 50 million this year because of the pandemic. How can we fail to feed our own?
Fifth, income disparity. Is the end goal of civilization to concentrate the majority of our wealth in the hands of a small cabal? If so, we are making good progress. If not, there has to be a way to redistribute that wealth in a way that still allows for competition and entrepreneurialism.
Sixth, seventh and eighth — the environment. Our reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable. On the face of it, rolling back regulations sounds like a positive step, a pro-business position to cut red tape and create more jobs. But when deregulation means allowing more groundwater pollution, expanding oil and gas drilling in protected national forests, and ratcheting up greenhouse gas emissions, we are cannibalizing long-term environmental health — to say nothing of the deleterious effects on our physical health — for short-term profits.
We need leadership that will work to reduce the carbon footprint of the industrialized world, invest in alternative forms of energy, and create jobs to replace those lost in coal country and elsewhere.
It won’t happen overnight and without concessions, but it has to happen before we bequeath to future generations a world that is unhealthy and unlivable.
If past performance is indicative of future results, all these issues would take a backseat under a potential second Trump term. Instead, we would have to prepare ourselves for another deep dive into white-grievance politics, partisan sniping, and tax-cut proposals that benefit the ultra-rich.
Under Biden, maybe at least some of these concerns will be addressed, although to what extent Congress will allow it is unknown.
But, make no mistake, somebody somewhere will have to deal with them, now or four years from now.
Nobody needs a crystal ball to forecast that.
chris.schillig@yahoo.com
@cschillig on Twitter
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