America, We’re Counting on You

A brief interaction last Saturday encapsulated my hopes for our neighbours to the south today, their presidential election day.

I stopped at a busy store to pick up a couple of things while wearing my Kamala childless cat lady t-shirt.

If you know, you know. The design is in reaction to comments made by the Republican candidate for VP.

I was carrying too many things for two arms, aiming for the checkout. Arriving from my left at about the same speed, was a very tall man wearing a red MAGA hat. He stopped and waved me forward. I thanked him and went ahead. He looked miserable, but about what, I couldn’t know. Possibilities ranged from my Kamala shirt to being in a crowded store on a Saturday morning.

I can only guess but I think the busy store was the more likely reason behind his frown. My shirt isn’t nearly as iconic as his hat. He probably didn’t even notice it. After I passed him I thought, gee, wouldn’t it be great to get a photo with him? My cat shirt and his red hat? But his demeanour didn’t say “photo ready” so I didn’t bother.

He and I will likely never meet again. Obviously, we’re polar opposites, politically. But in that moment we were just two humans trying to complete our tasks as quickly as possible and get on with our lives. And we could still be polite about it.

“Everything is a conspiracy when you don’t know how anything works.”

Former X employee Eddie Perez

Grudging politeness is the space where people with political differences used to live. There was actually a time when being Conservative or Liberal or whatever mish-mash of the two only indicated your opinions, not your worthiness. When your team didn’t win, you knew you had a few years to regroup and come back to try to get into the big office next time. Candidates battled over policies, not just complaints and outlandish claims about the mental fitness of the other side’s leader. Politics was boring. Politicians talked about deficits and job markets and not the end of the friggin’ world or baseless (investigated and disproven!) claims of cheating if they lost.

It was also a time when you didn’t necessarily talk about who you voted for. It was a personal decision – you made yours, I made mine. Now, for the first time ever, people like Harrison Ford are so worried about the outcome that they’re revealing their choices in hopes of swaying voters. Some Democrats are reminding women that their votes are nobody’s business, so they can cancel their husband’s Republican vote by voting Democrat, and he will never know.

I do hope our American friends get out and cast a ballot today. My fingers are crossed that those who have been indifferent to the process are now inspired to find the effort worthwhile. I also hope they can find their way back to a semblance of civility. Where a guy in a MAGA hat can encounter a woman in a Kamala t-shirt and politely wave her forward, or the other way around.

True, it’s not our country’s destiny on the line today. But we still have the right to an opinion about the most powerful nation on earth. The world is watching, America. Please choose your future wisely.