If you are experiencing an almost physical sensation of
dislocation, a sense of irrationality from others, a mood of
emotional despair about the future, or a general feeling of
political vertigo this presidential campaign cycle , you are
not alone.
You are not alone.
This “malady” is not new. In fact, it happens with a certain
frequency among various generations in the U.S. as seasons
of political change take place.
I’m not a physician, yet I doubt that there is any useful
medication for this condition.
I do think that there is a good alternative to any hysteria,
but it takes some effort to reappraise an altered political
environment, especially one that a person does not favor.
That reappraisal has to take place in the context of
extraordinary media manipulation of attitudes and emotions.
That bias exists on both the left and the right, among liberals
and conservatives, and is designed to push individual citizens
and voters to rigid conclusions.
The real world, as I see it, is much more provisional and much
less understandable than any slogan, catch phrase or simple
meaning that the media and the politicians attempt to impose.
There is an old adage which advises “nothing is what it seem to
be.” A corollary of this suggests “the most meaningful truth
often lies beneath the surface of events.” These are not answers,
but they are guides to avert the worst consequences of most
change we periodically encounter.
There can be little doubt that we as a nation are now undergoing
a political transformation. It affects our political parties, the
presidential political process, and the consciousness of various
generations and demographic regions.
It will take some time for the exact nature of these changes to
become clear. Uncertainty itself is no cause for alarm.
Let’s see how this all turns out.
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Copyright (c) 2016 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.
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