Hey, fellow Americans!
Is everyone excited about the encroaching election? I'm sure you are! Donald Trump announced his campaign in June of 2015- yes, last summer- and Hillary Clinton announced hers in April! Wow!
Fellow Americans, you're probably so used to seeing those two names everywhere you look that when you read them, your brain goes into some twilight zone of auto-processing, and you don't really even think about the people behind them! Almost every article or news story for over a year at this point, has featured one of their names. It's an ingrained part of our culture at this point. If someone bought you a pair of Donald Trump socks as a gag gift, it wouldn't even really be that funny anymore. Let that one sink in.
Yes, it's that time of year. We're not quite into the excitement and primetime electricity of the debates, but we've been weathering this distinctly American headache for too long to feel truly pumped about it anymore.
Sure, there are some people who love politics. Power to you, true politics fiends. I bet you're just loving this. Months and months of repeated candidate coverage. It's like Christmas! And yes, I'll be the first to say it: I still care about the election.
How could you not? It's your country. It's your future! Of course, popular culture also mandates we care, generally, about the direction we're flying into the future. You might have strong convictions for one of the candidates, or maybe neither, but the fact of the matter is we are saturated with campaign now. It's soaking into our bones, and it's getting exhausting.
When I open my twitter feed and see a picture of Hillary or Donald, I breathe in heavily and prepare myself mentally for what is sure to be another scathing commentary on the opaque nature of one or both of the campaigns--or Donald's remarks, or Hillary's health, or the somehow-still-a-thing questioning of Obama's nationality. It can really wear you down. So much so that you don't even want to be informed anymore.
Ugh- no more politics, you plea, and reach for another season of the show everyone's been saying is so funny. And I don't blame you. I really, really, really don't--because I'm tired of it all too. The fanfare and reckless circus that flies around the election years is always bad here, but this year seems to have grown exponentially worse. Maybe it's the candidates, or the issues, or even just a mixture of all of it dropped into a blender with the horrifying alternate timeline that I'm convinced has been most of 2016.
It's true, probably for a lot of us, and I can't help but think that the best thing to do might be to admit it to each other. Pat each other on the back. It's okay if we just don't want to talk about what Trump or Hillary said or what they were caught doing. Yes, please--stay informed. One of the great gifts of living in this democratic society is that we can each make a difference, no matter how small, and if you're going to vote, make sure you know why you're checking one box over another.
But if you want to talk about something else over dinner for once--painting or reading or riding a bike--don't feel guilty about it. It doesn't make you less intelligent for wanting a break from the relentless stream of intensely American issues. It just makes you a person who's tired of being stressed out for the better part of a year.
Because seriously, until the debates, if I hear one more thing about Donald Trump's hands or Hillary's mysterious illness, I think I'm going to have to move to Canada.
