Jokes and votes

Further observations

Reflecting on two further notes I received yesterday.

Each and every one of us in the country, regardless of political affiliation or anything else, should eliminate the disgusting and inflammatory rhetoric regarding the “other side” whether jokes, wry comments, deliberate use of violent rhetoric—ALL of it. This behavior makes us less serious people in an era of quite serious stuff. It is also pernicious and dangerous. I include myself in this reminder: we can do better if we are a quarter the country we profess or aspire to be. Just stop it now.

Second, yes, we make voting so hard. Is that a reform ambition we could embrace at the grassroots to push our political class to fix? I am not talking about the Electoral College which is another subject. I am talking about the ways we have affected barriers to preventing people from voting because we might not like the outcome or because we are elitists about who is smart enough to vote or other nonsense. Barriers out be lowered to the maximum feasible to include people. The current efforts (not all of which are partisan, by the way) create unintended consequences from which we all suffer.

Thank you. Please keep those cards and leapt tees and comments of any type flowing.

Be well, vote, and be safe. FIN