It's quite an interesting piece, based on a May 12-15 poll of 1,060 adults, describing the anticipatory moods of the respondents as ranging from "Frustrated" (70%) to "Proud" (13%), with "Interested," "Helpless," "Angry," "Hopeful," "Bored" and "Excited" falling in between.
Honestly, I can say that I feel most of the above each day, depending upon whatever media to which I've been exposed that day. There's another word I used more often -- "concerned." The article went on to say many voters are anticipating voting against a candidate rather than for someone.
When I moved to Colorado in May of 2015, I made going to the local DMV a priority -- to get my Colorado driver license, duly register my car and get the new plates and, while I was taking care of important business, registering to vote. I'd given this matter considerable forethought, and told the clerk I wanted to go on record as "Unaffiliated." The clerk reminded me that, in making this choice, I would be waiving my right to participate in the primary election. Presently, only Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota afford unaffiliated voters this right. I told the clerk I was fine with this. And I was--until the Great American Political Three-Ring Circus went into full juggernaut mode.
From the start, I tuned into CNN for the debates. For comic relief, I have enjoyed the barbed humor on late night talk shows, Stephen Colbert's series in particular. Bumper stickers and article headlines such as "I'm Catholic & I Vote" or "I'm a Senior & I Vote" are encouraging to me. This whole process is human drama to its highest--or lowest--degree.
Last week, I received a form letter from the Colorado Secretary of State, reminding me of the consequence of my earlier choice, and that I had a limited time to rethink my decision. As a result, I did some quiet grumbling and rejoined the Democratic party.
In the 1972 emotionally-charged Nixon vs. McGovern election, I was ineligible to cast a ballot, since I didn't turn 18 until a month after it was all over. During a trip home from college at the Thanksgiving break, I registered as a Republican. My choice, at that time, was influenced by my entire family being vehement Republicans; to make any other choice would have been seen as unthinkable and un-American. Within five years, my differentiation was reflected in my switch to the Democratic side. Ten years after that, I re-registered--as a Green Party member.
My brief Unaffiliated status came about as I got older and began chafing at accepting ready-made labels. Politics, for me, had become more about underlying issues, rather than slogans or candidates attempting to represent huge demographics. In my freshman college year, I relished calling myself "a RADICAL," because of the Vietnam War and the influence of my peer group. My twenties saw me mellowing into "a liberal." By the time I got into my fifties, I had trouble identifying with any pre-packaged agenda, and realized that I could consider concepts like democratic and republican (deliberately lower-case here), while being open-minded and truer to myself.
Referring back to the Denver Post article, I'd like to suggest that a measure of "malaise" might be productive. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines malaise as a "slight or general feeling of not being healthy or happy," which seems to routinely happen when the post-election euphoria wears off. Whoever "wins," let's focus on what needs to be accomplished and how we will support the president-elect's efforts to get the job done. That will be a tribute to our human endeavor and our country.
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