The US Presidential Election primaries have been more interesting than usual. This is probably due to a number of reasons. As our world becomes more interconnected, news travels faster, and people's thoughts and opinions are easier to poll and share. We also live in a more polarized political climate, as people become more entrenched in their positions, and less willing to tolerate compromise. But regardless of those magnifying factors, this race is a unique one, with both major parties experiencing close races from vastly different candidates. Both parties are facing the possibility of a rogue third party campaign on their side of the political spectrum, and that would usually spell certain defeat by dividing votes against a united opposition. But if both parties experience major splits, that would lead to a four way race in the general election, and it legitimately becomes anyone's game. I believe this could be a positive thing, depending on the form that it takes, by giving people more options at the polls, less manipulated by political parties and cross party sabotage of stronger candidates. Depending on the outcome, this scenario could cause a major shift in the traditional two party system.
I do have concerns about the direction our country appears to be headed, but change has rarely been a positive thing recently. Most of the changes seem to have been for the worse, leading one to want to see a stop to the change we are experiencing. But really, we all want change, just the right type of change. The popularity of political outsiders on both sides of the aisle during this election season is evidence that I am not alone in my concern about complacency towards business as usual.
I recognize that the future has looked scary in its own way to every generation. People born in 1890 would have grown up using horses for transportation, and been flying in jets when they retired. Our own parents used slide rules and typewriters in school, and saw the shift brought on by TVs, computers, and the internet. We have seen the cultural changes from cell phones, and will soon see the effects of Virtual Reality and other advances changing how we live and experience life. Some of those changes will be good, others bad, as with everything else in life.
While I am concerned about my own future, I am an adult and quite capable of taking care of my self in a wide variety of situations. I worry more about my new born son, and the world that he will grow up in. I can't expect to protect him from all of the changes in our society, and his experiences will be vastly different from mine. But if I see the possibility of our society collapsing in on itself within my lifetime, it seems like a near certainty that he will witness that, whatever it ends up looking like. Hopefully he will be even more prepared for it than I am, but it sure doesn't seem that way when I look at him now.
