Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The Era Of Bad Feelings

     See also, "Sore Winner," which is one of the things we'll see after the upcoming election is over, no matter which side wins.  Winning and then carping as badly as the losing side has become a feature of American politics and in my opinion, not one that reflects well on our parties and institutions.  What happened to the gracious winner?  --Dead on the scorched earth of the battlefield, trod into the dust and derided as a wimp, it would seem.  We'll miss the principle, by and by; the wheel turns and without mercy, it turns quite cruelly.

     There is still some reason to be uncertain of the outcome of this election, as there are indications the polling may be slanted -- though I would caution readers that polls can easily become self-fulfilling prophecy.

     What I don't doubt is that the party system is getting shaken up and I suspect over the next eight years, we'll see some changes.  A review of the "Era Of Good Feelings" would be in order, but for those too busy -- or too averse to reading, in which case, why are you here and not spray-painting a wall with the other mouth-breathers? -- one of the features of that "Era" was James Monroe's quiet, pleasantly-spoken strangling of the Federalist Party as it lay slumbering (or in a coma). When it ended, the Federalists were gone and, outside the U.S. Supreme Court, forgotten, and good riddance; but the lingering spirit of Hamilitonianism was infecting a new generation and in time, would lead to further problems.

     American politics can be viewed as about half a battle between authoritarians and ant-authoritarians, nearly always fought at the grassroots level -- and half a battle between competing bosses, especially at the highest levels.

     Come November, we'll get a new boss and he or she will be pretty much the same as the old boss.  Drone strikes will continue, the NSA's files on each and every one of us will get fatter (but hey, don't worry, only the machines will read it, at least until our individual Treasonability Index exceeds a pre-set threshold, after which who knows), there will be Some War Somewhere Overseas and Another Few Wars here at home on Drugs, or Mexicans, or Tax Cheats or whoever looks suitably scapegoaty to the Administration; commentators will wag their heads solemnly and the blood and money will keep right on flowing.

     And after four years, your money will be worth less and if you've got a raise, it won't have kept up with the rate of inflation.  Spin the wheel again but remember: when the books are totalled up, the house always wins.

     ...That's the best case.  Worst case?  We're about due for a civil war and a lot of idiots think it would be a fine idea.  If it comes, the survivors will know better.

6 comments:

Guffaw in AZ said...

"If it comes, the survivors will know better."

Until the NEXT time...

:-(

gfa

Blackwing1 said...

Thanks for the Who/Townshend reference.

I've got two versions on LP:
- From "Who's Next" (the studio version that's played on-air)
- The live version with John Williams from the "Secret Policeman's Ball" (the best one)

"Won't Get Fooled Again" should be the election's theme song. But we'll never, ever learn. How did this country get started in the first place? I've studied the heck out of the founders and their world, and I'll be darned if I can figure out how they did it.

Anonymous said...

" there are indications the polling may be slanted -"

Yeah, and it makes no sense they way it's being presented.

OK, say it's oversampled and skewed to show HRC is ahead. There is little to *zero* love / enthusiasm for her. If the public is convinced she'll win by a comfy margin, that just inspires her followers to not bother to show up and vote.

If they want to drive turnout, they should report the race as being a dead heat...

Roberta X said...

Anon, the more I see, the less I think I know.

fillyjonk said...

It's enough to make one long for SMOD.

pigpen51 said...

Robert X, That is pretty close to me. The older I get, the less I know for sure. When I was young, I was sure of everything. Now, as I get older, even the things I used to think I knew for sure I doubt. Like, I used to think that even if my vote didn't really matter, the election itself did. Now, I am not even sure that the election itself matters. And yet, I find myself still studying the candidates, trying to decide who to vote for. Less than 2 weeks to go now and I still am not sure. No, not Dem or Rep. Libertarian, or Constitution parties. Or just stay away from the top and vote for everything else.