Tonight is the first presidential debate. I’m not optimistic. I do keep up with politics, my husband says too much, but I believe strongly that America’s democratic future depends on a well-informed electorate before voters make the decision to change the United States of America we know into a dictatorship.
The founders created a balanced system between executive, legislative and judicial for a reason, and there is always a tension between the triumvirate. I believe that when Congress abdicated war powers to the administration, they kind of cooked their goose for a long time. Now Trump wants a unitary executive that places all executive power, semi-autonomous agencies such as the FCC (and probably FEC so no election violations will ever be dealt with), and the ability to refuse to issue funds allocated by Congress. Plus control of the Justice Department and weakening (or killing outright) the rule of law that has governed our country from the outset.
To add another wrinkle, with the bureaucrats doing as they’re told by Congress and the President, and Congress acting like a bunch of out-of-control junior high school students, the Supreme Court is stepping in to say that they’ll be both the executive and the legislature and deregulate everything, while taking women out of the picture entirely.
When I was sixteen I was picked out of the crowd, surprise, surprise, by one of the coolest seniors in high school and ended up on my first date. Two weeks later everyone decamped for Spring Break and he came back from Florida with a popular cheerleader. Oh well, I got to see a couple of PG movies.
Two years later upon my return from freshman year away at college, he called my first week home. We went out to the racetrack. I hated it. It was clear we were going to be together (we were, for years) for a while so I had to fix this.
Education was prized in my family, with both my parents being the first in their families to go to college, and at the time my father was a college president. Sending me out on Friday nights to go to local NASCAR races was not their idea of an appropriate date but they kept pretty quiet. I had a problem not with the people, but with the premise. Everyone was eagerly awaiting a multi-car crash. I’d prefer the Olympics, where an athlete can win a speed competition by a fraction of a second, a gymnastics routine by a soupçon of increased difficulty. Not assessing injuries and putting out fires.
I hate the way the mainstream and right-wing media are handicapping this presidential race and especially the debate, waiting for the inevitable pileup. This election is too important to rely solely on daily polls and harangues. Perhaps we’ll see an above-board exchange based on subject matter Americans really care about. Perhaps not.
My solution to the NASCAR issue was simple. My new boyfriend’s older sister and brother-in-law had a toddler who needed a babysitter. I volunteers, while remaining close to the family as after the races, parents and grandparents would come home with pizza and I didn’t have to see the pile-ups. I wasn’t paid for this gig, but it checked every other box for me.
Please know what this upcoming presidential election, and all the down-ballot races, mean for you and your family. You might be surprised. I know who I’m voting for. Above all, vote! Dee
Cooking with Dee 