Taking DEEP Breaths does help. But remain with sense of dread looking back on recent history.

[SorellaLaBefana]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Lasher (a host of the The DU Lounge forum).

Keep asking myself have we learned *nothing* this past hundred years or so?

How can we *possibly* have such a grotesque and bizarre choice in our current elections??

No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from. Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)

One can only hope that those of us who do *not* love evil will prevail—at this point, the best we can do is to vote!

[Mike 03]

1. I feel this too.

Although I'm optimistic about this election, as someone who has read a ton of books about the ascent of the Third Reich, and books about the Rwanda and Yugoslavia genocides, it's just so unfathomable that we are in this position, and that a good percentage of our fellow Americans either cannot recognize the danger Trumpism presents or think they desire it as a replacement for what we've had for 250 years. On some level it's just inconceivable.

[SorellaLaBefana]

2. Brexit

I recall thinking how *foolish* the Brits were to vote for Brexit. Which it seemed, was actually forecasted to and has proven to be an astounding act of national self-harm.

We felt so sorry for them.

THEN we voted for tRump?!?! and even greater act of self-destruction—now we have the 'opportunity' to do so once again?!

Gobsmacking, the Brits would say.

[Mike 03]

3. Europe is scared to death

BBC World is devoting a lot of air time to our election because another Trump term would be devastating for them (the UK) too.

There was a remarkable call to one of the talk shows on the SiriusXM Progress channel (probably Michelangelo Signorille, but it could have been Thom Hartmann). This was an American who had been travelling in Europe, mostly Spain and the UK, who claimed he saw many Harris/Walz signs in Europe! I can't vouch for the truth of this, but have no reason not to believe it. It just shows you how momentous this election is beyond our borders.

[SorellaLaBefana]

4. Yes! The WORLD is Scared to Death

The UK journal Nature recently ran this (non-paywalled) Editorial

The world needs a US president who respects evidence

...The Biden–Harris administration’s signature achievement is the plan to invest more than US$1 trillion in climate and clean-energy technologies over a decade — albeit while overseeing record levels of production of oil and natural gas in the short term. A landmark piece of legislation passed by Congress in 2022, called The Inflation Reduction Act, is a historic investment that seeks to modernize US manufacturing and create jobs in the clean-technology industry. At the same time, the administration has sought to craft and implement plans to insulate regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from political interference...

...That record is in stark contrast to what happened during Trump’s presidency, from 2017 to 2021. As president, Trump not only repeatedly ignored research-informed knowledge, but also undermined national and global science and public-health agencies. He has denied climate science, lied about the federal government’s response to hurricane forecasts and asked scientists to investigate whether disinfectants could be used to treat people with COVID-19...

...A lack of regard for the law and evidence fosters mistrust of scientists and institutions of state. That, in turn, weakens the foundations of democracy, both in the United States and around the world. A second Trump presidency would have an even more destabilizing effect globally, giving the green light to yet more leaders like him.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03417-y

[Lasher]

5. Locking.

Please, no politics in the Lounge.