WHAT NEXT, AMERICA?

Fires rage across northern California, polluting the San Francisco area with sickening smoke. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies, prompting a Presidential appointment 40 days before the Presidential election. 

More than 206,000 American deaths are attributed to COVID-19, and that number escalates daily. September shootings in Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester and St. Louis leave 36 people seriously injured. A contentious Presidential debate described by viewers as “unhinged,” “revolting,” “ugly” and “un-American” dampens enthusiasm and interest in upcoming debates “unless a mute button is used.” Seriously. A mute button?

And today President Donald Trump and his wife Melania were diagnosed with COVID-19. As with everyone in America, I wish them a speedy recovery along with the fervent hope they will start to wear masks.

What next, America?  

This presidential campaign would be rejected as a movie script by Oliver Stone and Rob Reiner as “utterly preposterous!” Novelists Allen Drury (“Advise and Consent”) and Joe Klein (“Primary Colors”) would find the current political scenario “too far fetched for my readers.” Because it is.

As the daughter of a Democratic politician, I’ve always had a special reverence for the electoral process and the candidates involved. Election day was sacred in our house. Even though we supported the Democratic ticket, my brothers and sister and I took voting seriously and learned to live with the consequences of that election, no matter which candidate won. 

The political process is not pristine. I don’t like the name-calling, the obvious and numerous prevarications, the distortion of facts that have become part of most campaigns. But it is a system that has worked for more than 200 years. There have been ugly campaigns before  but this one takes the Sara Lee. It’s also utterly exhausting.

Yesterday I met my friend Laurel for a three mile hike along the bridle path here in the Kennebunks. This turn-of-the-century former train bed parallels the Mousam River. As we walked in the mid-morning sun, crimson and orange leaves fell on our shoulders. We spotted a white egret stalking through a marshy area next to the sparkling Mousam. We passed numerous happy bikers and smiling walkers.

It was such a refreshing contrast to what I see today.