Opinion by Bette Grande
Columnist Bette Grande writes about COVID, elections and other things Americans disagree on today.
September 02, 2023 – First published at Inforum.com
It is hard to describe the world we live in today. We are arguing over things that did not exist three years ago. The burning issues come and go and come back again. The drumbeat is picking up for the return of COVID this fall, COVID 2.0. Yes, they are really going to try that again. You can pick up patterns and repetition, but each new day is different. This isn’t Bill Murray’s “Ground Hog Day” where each day repeats until he figures out how to break the cycle. It’s worse.
For the next 14 months we will be subjected to news about the 2024 election. And, consistent with the downward spiral we are on this election cycle will feature some old favorites like COVID restrictions with pressure to take next experimental jab and growing instability of the electric grid. But we have a new wrinkle bound to build unity across the land, trials of a former president and current challenger to President Biden scheduled to coincide with major dates in the presidential primary. But I am sure those dates are merely a coincidence.
All of this leads up to the elections in November 2024. While I cannot predict the outcome, I can say with confidence that at least 30% of our country will claim the election was rigged. Despite what you may have heard, claims of unfair elections and cheating are not new. The only thing that is new is that these statements are now considered to be a crime.
Al Gore and his supporters argued for years that the 2000 election was stolen. Who can forget the hanging chads! Stacie Abrams still thinks she is the governor of Georgia. And Hillary Clinton, MSNBC, CNN and others were certain that the 2016 election was stolen. And don’t forget the whole Russia collusion scam and impeachment attempts were put into motion because the 2016 election was “stolen.” None of these things were a crime apparently.
If a Republican somehow wins in 2024 the Democrats will again question the election (and it will no longer be a crime). If a Democrat wins 30% of the population will they still say it was stolen. Do you see the problem here? Regardless of the outcome of the 2024 election 30% of us will be happy (while reserving the right to be outraged about something), 30% will either riot or complain loudly on Facebook or X. The 40% in the middle will not care either way, instead they will struggle with the reality that they can now carry out $100 in groceries with just one finger on a plastic shopping bag.
This may sound depressing; I do not mean it to be but it is simply reality. If you follow “The Fourth Turning” by Strauss and Howe you may see this period as the fourth turning, likely to last another 8 to 10 years before the new spring arrives. For myself, the only answer to the position we are in is repentance and revival. May it be so.