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The Election

I am kind of already bored with the election cycle. The trouble is, neither candidate really excites me. At all. They both kind of repulse me, if I'm honest, so I'm finding I'm becoming apathetic. The truth is, I don't want either one to be president, and so I'm stuck with having to decide between which one I prefer less. It's Mr. Trump, obviously. So my vote will most likely go for Ms. Clinton. But man, I don't love it.

A coworker of mine pointed out that perhaps this is just another sign that the people are getting to the point that there's no return... In airplane parlance, this is the point at which there is insufficient fuel to turn around and safely get back to where you started. Once you reach this point of no return, there's no turning back - you must proceed onward until you get to the final destination.

I don't know if I believe that necessarily - besides, where would one return to in this metaphor anyway? Did that place ever exist at all? Or is it just a nostalgic ideal that beckons us? Perhaps, on attempting to return to that place, we'd find ourselves out of fuel and circling a destination that never really was...

I don't want to stretch the metaphor too far. But I believe in the eternal and inevitable progress of mankind. We're always headed somewhere, both individually and as a civilization at large. I believe that there is cause to be optimistic, both in the long-term as well as regarding more immediate situations. And if we're on this airplane together, we ought to work together to ensure a safe, stable, and enjoyable flight...

As the election gets out of the respective conventions, I'm anticipating an increase in mudslinging and zingers. Both of these folks want to come across as strong and they've both shown no reluctance to get into the mud. Which is too bad, because there are real policy and legal matters that need to be addressed, and with the character attacks there may be little or no room for any of that to be addressed in a substantive way. How are we supposed to make informed decisions about our candidates if all we hear is how terrible they are (personally)?

Anyway. It will also be interesting to see how the two top-ticketers affect the down-ticket folks. I read that Mr. Flake from Arizona is not supporting Mr. Trump, which is a bit of a departure from normal partisan politics. It may work well for Mr. Flake, but how will that affect Mr. Trump? And I believe that his attitude is not unique, in fact, I believe that it is rather pervasive across the Republican network... I see that a little on the Democratic side, but not nearly to the extent... So maybe that's where I can become more interested in the respective races - like watching the runners-up in an otherwise predetermined contest...

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