Something remarkable
We might see a historic event in November, electing our first female president to lead an administration focused on governing for all our communities.
I wonder if we are seeing something remarkable in the swirling and dramatic political climate: an appreciation of governance as opposed to performance.
The advent of social media sped up and decentralized the news cycle, putting style and clickbait over substance. For all the good it has done in bringing platform access to those who would otherwise be excluded, social media is fundamentally the sale of and profit from our attention. And for a decade or more, it has used big data to hone its algorithms and strategies to grab our attention and keep it engaged, all the while harvesting more data from our online behaviors and connection patterns, and reselling that data.
One result has been a vicious competition for our attention, unscrupulous in its use of triggers for anger and outrage.
But I wonder if folks are tiring of the outrage and the performances that are designed to bring it about. Drama is engaging, and exhausting. Perhaps we are starting to remember and appreciate the importance of straightforward governance, decision-making that puts the well-being of the community first.
The Biden-Harris administration governs, imperfectly of course, but intentionally and overall with substantive results for the majority of Americans. The U.S. has had a stronger and more consistent economic recovery post-pandemic than most other nations; the investments in infrastructure and clean energy are so successful that Republicans who voted against them are taking credit for the projects they create in their states and districts. Wage growth has outpaced inflation for the last year at least. Global allies rely on the diplomatic team; our world position is stronger than it was in the previous administration.
The focus on performance is far from dead: President Biden stepped aside from the nomination in part due to strong negative reactions to his (in)ability to perform as Democrats thought a candidate should. Vice President Harris is building significant momentum running on the same administration’s record.
The previous president’s performances, however, are finally beginning to fall flat. Smaller crowds. Fewer supporters. And visible signs of cognitive decline mixed in with the usual racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist rants. The Republican vice presidential candidate resorted to accusing his opponents of “bullying” for using hte term “weird” to describe MAGA positions.
Maybe, just maybe, our public discourse is showing signs that the exhaustion with performative mean-spirited outrage triggers is building into an appreciation for the hard and less attention-grabbing work of governing.
If so, we might see a historic event in November, electing our first female president to lead an administration focused on governing for all our communities.
Let’s do this together.
Be safe and well.
