Here we are between Halloween and US Election Day. Whatever the Christian or pagan roots of Halloween may be – and they are many – it is difficult for us to see it here in the UK as primarily other than another commercial ploy to stimulate sales in that slack period before the Christmas binge begins. It is perhaps an economic boost for those farmers who spotted a hole in the market and now produce tons of pumpkins and profit. And it has the virtue of helping hard-pressed parents to keep their children amused at mid-term.
Around here there were some children out in their gothic kit yesterday evening but not so many and none of the trick or treaters knocked at our door(that means I will have to eat the surplus chocolate bars!) We suspect that few of the children or their parents will have much idea about All Saints’ Eve or about remembering and celebrating the lives and feats of those long-deceased – which was the original point of the occasion. The skeletons, witches’ hats and cobwebs are all highly sanitized and 'just a bit of fun'. They feed the contemporary taste for the macabre and horror.
Republican Candidate Donald Trump does not appear to remember the dead…or anybody else for that matter. He is the centre of his own preening universe. He does not remember just how hard-won the freedoms of his country are. He tramples on them whenever it suits him. And should he gain power next week, the long horror show will begin. And it will have implications for all of us, however removed from White House politics we may feel ourselves to be.
He has tried to deconstruct much that we hold dear. It must be the case that truth-telling is a fundamental to our ideas about living more or less peaceably in community. We must use language in such a way that it is respectful and has a meaning other than the one we wish to attach to it. Always and everywhere the will of very powerful tyrants must be subjected to the checks and balances of informed and respectful challenge. He would trash all of this if given another opportunity – and it will be worse this time.
That is not to say that this blog is an easy endorsement of Kamala Harris. Of course, economic and foreign policy are important and we need to check her promises. But this election is about much more than that. It is about common decency. It is about not seeing those who disagree with us as evil people and fit for humiliation. It is about the virtues of negotiating over dictating. It is about the readiness to share power. And so much more.
As with Halloween, money is very much in the election mix. Besides all the usual fund-raising stunts, we have seen Trump supporter, Elon Musk, virtually bribing supporters for their vote. We are not Americans and should be careful about offering our judgements on another country. But this election is not just about another country’s politics. It is about strands in a gossamer web of global relationships which can be so easily ripped to shreds.
It is amazing where Trump supporters lurk but we doubt there are many among our regular readers! if this weekend we happen to be in touch with American friends, perhaps we shall ask them the Halloween question, 'Trick or Treat?' Trump is a trickster, a fraud and charlatan behind a death mask - aware that he is inadequate and puffing up, dangerously. A Harris presidency is unlikely to be a treat, but of the options available vote Harris, obviously.
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