Well, here we are. Election Day 2026. Tomorrow, Americans get to participate in our favorite national tradition: calling everyone who disagrees with us a threat to democracy while insisting we’re the only ones qualified to save it.
Out come the Nazis, socialists, kings, fascists, elites, Muslims, Christians, evangelicals, liberals, woke warriors, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, MAGA supporters, conspiracy theorists, and those individuals who make me wonder how they remember to breathe while walking without falling over.
They all have one thing in common: they’re here to Save America!
Apparently, America is in such terrible shape that we need to save it every two years. At this point, perhaps we should check whether America has a subscription service we accidentally signed up for.
Every election cycle brings the same traveling circus. New slogans, new villains, new promises, and the same old politicians assuring us that this time, everything will be different.
It’s like watching a reality show about Jim Jones and his followers. Everyone is standing around saying, “Come drink our Kool-Aid! We have all the answers!”
No offense to Kool-Aid. It didn’t ask to be dragged into this.
We get endless investigations from both sides, congressional recesses so elected officials can continue collecting their paychecks without accomplishing anything, half-truths presented as gospel, and prosecutions of political opponents. All while ordinary Americans are expected to stand there, take another beating, and proudly respond, “Thank you, sir! May I have another?”
For those unfamiliar with the reference, that’s from Animal House. For those familiar with American politics, apparently it’s our national anthem.
United We Stand. Unless You Disagree.
Maybe we should just break the country into smaller, inefficient little countries. We already have the states, so we’re halfway there.
Each state can pick its political tribe, establish its own rules, and forbid anyone from the other side from moving in. We could build enormous walls along state borders, issue ideological passports, and require a political loyalty test before someone can buy groceries.
Ridiculous? Absolutely.
But judging by the way some people talk about their fellow Americans, it seems we’re already halfway through the planning stages.
Apparently, we no longer want a country where people with different beliefs can live together. We want a country where everyone agrees with us, thinks like us, worships like us, votes like us, and preferably wears the appropriate color shirt.
The irony is that we’re supposedly trying to preserve the United States while actively working to divide it.
And what exactly are we preserving?
We have politicians who seem more interested in consolidating power than serving the public. We have people who don’t know their own history, haven’t read the Constitution, and confuse a social media post with a historical document.
The brave apparently don’t live here anymore. Everyone is either afraid of something or trying to make someone else afraid of it. Fear has become a political product, and business is booming.
We blame immigrants, political opponents, other countries, previous administrations, and occasionally the weather for problems we often helped create ourselves.
Our government interferes in the affairs of other countries, sometimes starts wars, and then expresses outrage when those countries interfere in ours.
I’m beginning to think America is an ancient word for hypocrisy. Either that, or we have become exceptionally good at pointing fingers while conveniently forgetting we have three pointing back at ourselves.
The Business of Saving America
Do I think I could do a better job?
You betcha!
Would everything be perfect? Of course not. I’m not selling a miracle, and I don’t own a magic wand. Although, given the current political landscape, I would consider putting one on the campaign merchandise list.
But I do think we could do better than the nonsensical political circus we endure election after election.
Consider the money spent on this midterm election. We’re talking record-breaking sums being poured into advertising, campaigns, consultants, political organizations, and an endless stream of messages explaining why the other candidate is apparently the physical embodiment of the apocalypse.
A MIDTERM ELECTION!
Imagine what even a fraction of that money could accomplish if directed toward improving people’s lives, investing in communities, education, infrastructure, or reducing our national debt.
Instead, we spend extraordinary amounts of money convincing Americans that their neighbors are the enemy.
What a business model. Create a problem, convince everyone the other side caused it, collect donations to fix it, and repeat every election cycle. Somewhere, a marketing executive is taking notes.
What’s an American Life Worth?
Here’s something else worth considering.
In our society, human life is constantly evaluated in financial terms. Economists, insurers, governments, and businesses use monetary estimates when calculating risk, compensation, healthcare costs, and the economic impact of death or injury.
There are legitimate reasons for some of these calculations. Governments need to make decisions about safety, public policy, and spending.
But somewhere along the way, we’ve become awfully comfortable reducing human beings to numbers on a spreadsheet.
Your age, health, earning potential, occupation, and other circumstances can affect how institutions calculate your economic value. Even something as personal as the ability to have children can be discussed in terms of future economic contribution.
Your organs have a market value. Your labor has a market value. Your life has an estimated economic value.
Apparently, even being alive requires a financial assessment.
I’m sure God must be thrilled that we have managed to turn the whole business of being created in His image into an accounting exercise. Perhaps the next commandment will be, “Thou shalt maximize shareholder value.”
When did we decide that money was the measure of everything?
When did we stop looking at people as human beings and start looking at them as revenue sources, expenses, liabilities, and political voting blocks?
A person’s worth should not be determined by how much money they earn, how useful they are to the economy, what political party they support, or whether they fit neatly into someone else’s definition of a productive citizen.
We are people. Not inventory.
So, Go Vote. But Think While You’re Doing It.
Tomorrow, get out and vote.
Vote for the people you believe will do the best job. Not necessarily the people who shout the loudest, spend the most money, or promise to save you from the people they spent the last year telling you to hate.
Don’t vote simply because your parents did. Don’t vote because your friends do. Don’t vote because a television personality, social media influencer, or political celebrity tells you that you’re a terrible human being if you don’t.
And please, don’t vote for someone simply because they have an impressive collection of campaign merchandise. A baseball cap is not a governing philosophy.
Look at their record. Look at their actions. Look at what they have actually accomplished. Ask questions. Challenge their statements. And when they make a mistake, hold them accountable, regardless of which political team they belong to.
We call these people our elected representatives. That’s an important distinction. They are supposed to represent us, not rule us, enrich themselves, or dictate how we should live.
We don’t need kings. We don’t need political celebrities. We don’t need a government that treats half the population as enemies.
We need public servants who understand that the job is about serving the public.
And perhaps we should stop expecting politicians to save America in the first place. That responsibility belongs to all of us.
So go vote. Choose wisely. And remember that the person standing in line next to you, wearing a different political color, is still your fellow American.
Because if the only way we can save America is by destroying our relationships with each other, then perhaps we should stop asking who’s going to save the country and start asking what the hell we’re doing to it.
And one last thing: If a candidate promises to fix everything, make everyone happy, eliminate all problems, and unite the country in a single term, ask them to put it in writing.
Then ask for their definition of everything.
I’m still waiting for someone to promise to fix the potholes.
