The Fifth

A depiction of the Gunpowder Plotters, their trial and execution by Crispijn van de Passe the Elder.

That wasn't so much as a "barn-burner" of an American election as much as it was a burn-down-the-barn-and-everything-in-it. I guess it was appropriate that this election was held on Guy Fawkes Night, which commemorates the Gunpowder Plot by a group of disgruntled Catholics to blow up the British parliament. Now we are all left staring at the glowing embers of what was once American Exceptionalism. Congratulations, your democracy is now an exceptional heap of ashes. Don't worry, ours might be next. Hey, we did learn, however, that you don't need explosives to blow up democracy, just use xenophobic rhetoric to get the job done. To my American colleagues who were given the day off to vote, they can say, "I'll always remember the moment democracy died, at least I had the day off." For myself, I'm happy about the human brain's capacity for cognitive dissonance. Sometimes more descriptively referred to as "compartmentalization". It allows us to stow away the bad thoughts and continue on with our lives. Keep calm and all that stuff. I imagine my mind not as a palace with many rooms but as a large room full of index card drawers, where the "bad thoughts" are kept in what is more like a "bits & pieces" or "odds & ends" drawer. Every kitchen has one and so does my mind.

In that odds & sods drawer are the stuff I know exists, but I'm going to pretend doesn't. I know that cows are gentle beasts with lovely big eyes, I know that pigs are quite clever, that lambs are cute, and rabbits are fuzzy, but I also know that all of these beasties are delicious. Delicious recipes for attractive members of the animal kingdom are kept in an entirely different drawer. Now added to the drawer is that politically, one of the most influential nations on this big blue marble is sleepwalking its way to an authoritarian, Christian-nationalist, misogynist, racist, protectionist, unfettered capitalist republic. I'm sure I'm forgetting some aspersions, but you know, they can be thrown in the drawer later.

This sleepwalk isn't just happening in the US but in many places. It feels like a dangerous time to be a progressive-minded person. This type of conservatism isn't just petty, but also very simple, which is something you'll have to think about if you plan on arguing with a conservative. Progressives lean toward discussing an issue with nuance. Conservatives are not interested in nuance. They see a problem, rightly or wrongly, then assign a simple solution that might be very wrong. This American election highlighted what we've seen elsewhere. This new version of right-wing politics is surprisingly selfish. The way the two sides used the word, "Freedom" echoed this sentiment. The GOP spent their campaign whinging about perceived wrongs and slights and they want the "freedom to…" do whatever they want and the "freedom to…" stop other people from doing whatever they want. On the Democratic side, they tried to reclaim the word to mean the "freedom from…" someone trying to control your body, telling you what you can and cannot read, and telling you what bathroom you can use. Maybe you're too tired to argue. In that case, in American parlance, just "plead the Fifth". Remember, remember the fifth of November.

Never mind all that. I'll stuff all of it in that index card drawer that is already overflowing with bad thoughts. Maybe I can annex the useless spaces filled with sports and movie trivia for additional storage? Or maybe, instead of becoming a hoarder of bad thoughts, I should learn to let them go and set them free. The world outside my mind is not controlled by me, I can only control my response to it. Rather than worrying about things out of my control, I should focus on my impact, footprints, and influence. Then I can go back to filling my index card drawers with funny anecdotes and movie trivia.