10th Anniversary Post: The Election and Our Common Life

Who's on your fridge?A recent New Yorker cartoon shows two toddlers discussing the election. One says to the other, "This is the most important election of our lifetime." It's a play on what has become a cliche about every single election I can remember, and I can remember a lot of them.Hindsight is 20/20, to quote another cliche, but if I had to pick the most important election of my lifetime, it would either be 1980 (Reagan vs. Carter) or 2016 (Trump's first election). Ten years ago, Trump seemingly did everything wrong--vulgarity, scandal, trash talking women and veterans, making fun of the handicapped, weak command of policy issues--yet to the wonderment of all, he got enough support in enough states to get elected President. In doing so, he legitimized a surly undercurrent in America that must have been there all along, but only came to full flower when he did.That surly undercurrent is still with us, despite the Democrats' thunderous national victory in the 2026 offyear…

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