POLARIZATION AGAIN
The election is coming in a little over a week. And I wondered this week whether one of the things that caused my malaise and inability to fit into American culture again was the tremendous polarization in American politics.
The coming election is going to pick winners and losers. If the gay woman Unitarian minister running for Congress as a Democrat wins I will be euphoric, but if the conservative old man from Hendersonville who seems to have a grudge against liberal Asheville wins as a Republican I will be further depressed.
But the one thing that I am sure of is that the vote will be 50/50 or 51/49 and no matter who wins half the people of the district be disgusted and half will be joyful. What is certain is that we will be just as polarized after the election as we are before. In fact all the accusations thrown back and forth in this elections and all of the other elections to be decided on Election Day will leave us even more polarized than before. And if our greatest problem in America isn’t the contrasting policies of the Democrats or Republicans, but the polarization and distrust between the two parties, then the election will have done nothing to resolve our tensions, the election will only make things worse. One side or another will claim to win but will win knowing half their constituents are furious at them and will be waiting to get revenge at the next election.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 