Naylor: A not-so-super Wednesday
Are Joe Biden and Donald Trump too old to run for their second presidential terms? It’s not the first time this question has been asked. It’s also not the first time that American voters have expressed disappointment in the two apparent choices for the highest seat in our country.
In every presidential election cycle I’ve witnessed in the last decade, the top remaining candidates increasingly seem to be less of a reflection of voter beliefs and more of a reflection of voter behavior.
Either candidate, if elected, will at some point leverage their power, and our tax dollars, to support causes and do things that the very people who voted for them, and paid those taxes, may not support. Why is this? Why do these package deals never seem to speak to the individuality of American voters?
At this point, if you’re dissatisfied with your choices, and you have never voted outside of your party lines, it’s time to take a hard look in the mirror. If red is bad and blue is good, or vice versa, then maybe the problem is that our choices have been oversimplified for us by two major parties that are more interested in self-preservation than they are in the well-being of this country that we love.
After all, self-preservation is a common theme not only in the two major candidates, vying to hold onto an office where their age has come into question, but also in the parties they represent, backed by generations of politicians yearning to ride the same wave of career success, a comfortable retirement and a lasting sense of purpose.
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There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious; career politicians are no different from most of us in this regard. We all want to lay our heads to rest with the peace of mind that we’ve done well for ourselves and our loved ones, and for other people — strangers — to thank us for the work we’ve done as added affirmation that our time on this Earth was not in vain. The problem is holding onto that work, for so long, that your sheer involvement becomes detrimental to the very cause that your younger, more idealistic self once visualized. And if Biden and Trump are unable to let it go, then maybe it’s the voters’ turn to let their loyalties — Democrat or Republican — go.
It’s not a radical idea. It is widely known that independents are the largest voting bloc in the country, and it can be widely assumed that their votes, losses and celebrations are all half-hearted. Dissatisfaction is an increasingly common reaction to every presidential debate, race and inauguration. Yet, many independents fall back into the same habits on Election Day, helping produce the same results.
Why is this? I’ve got a few guesses, among them are: Mounting pressure from either side, the vilification of third-party candidates and their voters, the “A vote for ____ is actually a vote for ____” rhetoric, spread by both major parties at their convenience, and echoed by those who missed the broader concept of integers in high school algebra.
In this millennium, we’ve had two two-term presidents. Where are they now? George W. Bush took up painting. Barack Obama is now working in film. Politicians are people, after all, and people are complex … and often restless. I do not doubt that Trump and Biden could find other outlets to direct their energy. But I do doubt that either should be directing ours.
Don’t call assistant editor Sean Naylor a “liberal.” Also, don’t call him a “conservative.” But if you’d like to expand on this debate, please submit a letter to the editor at letters@vaildaily.com or send him an email at snaylor@vaildaily.com.
