It happens every political season. There comes a point where an odd malaise sets in, a disillusionment with fluffy language and detached wonkishness, a swirling embellishment of iconic irritations that otherwise wouldn’t bother us. That dizziness you are experiencing is not a symptom of the cold and flu season but rather a symptom of the longest Presidential election of our times. It is three and a half years in the running and it’s still not over.
As the intoxicating fumes of parity waft through the air on Super Tuesday, many are dreading the idea that we will emerge from this fog with even less certainty as to who will be the nominees. It’s not the uncertainty that makes us sick but rather the endless speculation drowning out the rest of the news that might be important to our lives. As it is, we are trapped in a prismatic cycle where all stories of interest must first pass through the lips of the candidates, thus increasing or deflating its air time.
The questions simmer in a stew of narcissism until any informational value has been boiled out. We end up asking how the stock market will affect Hillary’s new haircut or what should John McCain do about the Natalie Holloway case? Mitt Romney will be criticized for accepting the endorsement of Facebook over MySpace. Mike Huckabee will preach about how bass guitars will maintain their current retail price because the loss of inherent costs would level out the twenty percent sales hike that sits at the core of his Fair Tax proposal. The rest of us will spin in our office chairs watching the fluorescent lights on the ceiling go round and round until we either turn off the TV or throw up. Some of us will do both, some of us already have.
So what is the cure, you might ask? What can we do to keep our ears from automatically blocking out the jib-jab of bobble heads whose job it is to pound us into intellectual submission with their determined repetition? There are a couple of methods you could try. One is that you can get your lazy butt off the fence and pick your poison today. Then simply mark your calendar, put your hands over your ears and wait for Election Day. Another is that you can flip on the computer and dive into the debate. As strange as it sounds, becoming a part of the tennis match is far more fun that watching it from outside the fence. Instead of getting a twitchy neck cramp from following the ball you would be engrossed in making sure the next shot is returned with the full force of a Serena-like backhand.
Article comments
1 - Deano
My question is this:
Why do you even need 3 1/2 years in the first place?
The Canadian's typically do it in as little as 36 days, the British in 5 to 8 weeks, and the Australian's in approximately 6 weeks....even the Italian's (bless their rascally hearts) do it in a shorter period.
Why so much time? Honesty, the decision ain't that hard to make.
I'm honestly curious how much of the endless, relentless, self-aggrandizing partisan blather is self-defeating, driving each successive generation further and further from exercising their votes. It is no wonder voter turnout is falling...
2 - iPosty
This election, and really all of them, are far too important to be burned out, or bored.
I cope with the media blitz by balancing coverage with all the other parts of my life. Family - Church - Work - Fun.
Good Citizenship is a lifestyle...
3 - Baronius
Alex - That's some great writing.
4 - Krutic
That's the fallacy of 24 hour news channels.