Auchtoon!

Yes, I’m dwelling on the election. I’m aware. And honestly, it’s not the result itself I’m having trouble reconciling or even what lies ahead. It’s the foundational blow to how I understand people are supposed to behave.

Perhaps it’s an overdeveloped sense of fairness or my expectation of kindness or the concept that justice prevails. It’s how I was raised and what I experienced (or thought I experienced) until now.

It’s also a foundational blow to what I expected from my country. Until we reached this point, it was other countries who let unsavory demagogues take the reins. All those third world countries and even some of our peers. We judged them. We looked down on them. How could Italy elect a character like Silvio Berlusconi? Twice? And now we’ve gone and done it.

I guess I thought that in this country we could and would disagree on law and policy and economics. But there would always be general agreement on the type of person to avoid as a leader.

I guess it’s disconcerting to realize that half the people in this country watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” this holiday season would likely vote to put Mr. Potter in office.

In the early 1980s, the band Fun Boy Three had a hit in their native UK, “The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum).” It was a denouncement of the Margaret Thatcher-led Conservative government that had come to power. The title is pretty clear about their particular thoughts on the matter, but you can check out the full lyrics in the iconically 80s video:

Have I lost you? I wouldn’t blame you. Even among Michigan Public listeners, I expect it’s me, my friend Mert, and maybe one other person who has any idea what I’m writing about.

Be that as it may, it’s the song that popped to mind as I’ve witnessed the ongoing parade of unqualified, unvetted characters the incoming presidential administration has nominated for leadership positions. (As I write this, Matt Gaetz has apparently withdrawn his nomination for Attorney General because he didn’t want to be a distraction. Uh-huh. As if the whole point of his political career has been something other than being a distraction.)

How did we get here? Well, we elected Trump, of course. And he told us he intended to follow a course of patronage and fealty in deciding nominees. So no surprise there.

But it’s also in part due to how easily those who oppose him and his policies allow themselves to lose focus. It’s always laudable to consider the feelings of others when choosing your words. But when the lunatics are in fact taking over the asylum, that becomes the priority for focus.

The Michigan Legislature is just now starting into a lame duck session. So for the next month and a half, Democrats will still hold a majority in the House and Senate, with a Democrat as governor. But in January, the new elected House will have a slight Republican majority.

Republicans are already grexing about the legislation Democrats might pass while they still can. Just as the Democrats grexed back in 2018. (In that case, it was the Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer replacing the Republican Governor Rick Snyder, but it was the same net effect for a lame duck session.)

In a way, it’s kind of nice to get back to a standard sort of political bickering. There’s no apocalyptic government action at stake, nothing exponentially outside of norms (like, say, Matt freakin’ Gaetz as a nominee for Attorney General).

So there will be some posturing and some sniping. And a boatload of hypocrisy. But that will set us up nicely for the new year with a divided government. (I will not add a hopeful note here for a divided government perhaps leading us to honest debate and thoughtful compromise.)

To be honest, I’m still collecting my thoughts on the election. I suspect most of you are. So instead of adding here to the cacophony of articles/posts/pods etc. trying to sort it all out, I’ll just leave it to the cartoon to convey the vibe.

If you have a declared allegiance to a political party, this cartoon isn’t for you.

If you hew closely to a liberal/left or conservative/right ideology, this cartoon isn’t for you.

If you are a single-issue voter (women’s health/abortion, for example), this cartoon isn’t for you.

If you vote transactionally, going for the candidate who you think is most likely to deliver on the political promises that will benefit you, this cartoon isn’t for you.

And if you happen to be a billionaire (you never know who reads these things) trying to puppet-string the world to your personal benefit, this cartoon is not for you.

This is for the undecided voters. And if you are one of these people at this point days before the election (and months into a thoroughly exhausting, all-consuming campaign season), I imagine the only criteria left to make a decision on is character — who is the more relatable, decent, stable human being? I mean, if that’s how you would choose a co-worker, a manager, a neighbor, a friend — shouldn’t that factor into how you would choose a President?

So I don’t want to lead you too much here, but may I suggest voting for the one who is NOT the living embodiment of the seven deadly sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride)?