Politics.

It’s way too soon for the next Presidential Election primary season to start here in the United States. I know some folks started talking about the exercise right after the outcome of the 2020 election was called, but I’d be a really happy camper if we could limit discussions around the next presidential elections to only the six months leading up to the event. I feel like that would give us enough time to figure out who was going to do what and we could make a rational decision come the first week in November.

But the U.S. election system doesn’t work that way, mainly because there’s no money in that sort of sane approach. And money is the name of the game when it comes to Politics.

So I’m not ready for 2024. I’m not ready for the rah rah, I’m not ready for town halls, I’m not ready for any of it. I can tell you that I’m not excited by any of the candidates that have announced their intentions thus far. The frontrunners (if there is such a thing 18 months from Election Day) are both just too damn old. The Baby Boomer Politicians will just not let go and let candidates from the younger generations find their way to the big offices.

What I’m really not ready for is anger and vitriol. 2016-2020 was exhausting on way too many levels and things slowed down just a little bit from the end of 2020 to the present day. I’m not ready for Facebook posts and political rants. I don’t want to be part of any of that. I feel like I’m going to be desperately clinging to the “country” side of my family and just keep my politics personal. Political beliefs should be like spiritual beliefs, but instead of being between me and $deity, it’s between me and the voting machine.

I’ll probably get more worked up as we inch toward the frenetic political pace that is waiting for us on the horizon. I may share some of my opinions then.

But I’m really going to try hard not to get angry about the whole thing.

The people Arizona showed a spark of sanity in the recent elections and have elected Katie Hobbs as our next governor. The margin of victory is less than 1% and has been right down to the wire with vote tabulations. Of course her opponent, Kari Lake, an ardent Trump supporter who denies anything that makes sense and is obviously vying to be Trump’s running mate, is having a hissy fit of ridiculous proportions and screaming about fraud and cheating and the like.

I’m really, really tired of sore losers.

The election was way too close for comfort and it’s disconcerting knowing that probably half the people you encounter on the street supported a candidate who feels Arizona should secede from the United States, basically stripping folks of their social security, Medicare, and countless other perks of being part of the Union, as well as getting rid of the six military bases here in the desert. Her approach sounds so patriotic. Yet, nearly half of the votes went to that nut job.

I’m interested to see what Katie Hobbs does as governor. I’ve been shying away from politics in general because the whole affair is incredibly depressing and disillusioning, but at least with Katie Hobbs at the helm of Arizona I feel a little bit of comfort.

I’ve posted this image on Twitter today.

Back in the days when cash registers had 7-segment LED displays, this is how they spelled out messaging indicating that particular checkout lane was closed. I always thought this was quite the nifty way to relay a simple message and I like the retro look to the message.

I posted it on Twitter because I’ve checked out of the dialog for a little while. A minute? An hour? A day? A week? Who knows. After seeing tweets praising Trump for posting photoshopped images of Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi in Middle Eastern type religious garb, insinuating their conspiring with terrorists, I came to the realization that Twitter hasn’t learned anything, despite the PR claims of being a better Internet citizen. Trump can post outright hate speech and Jack Dorsey and friends will never do anything about it.

Why should I contribute to any dialog on the platform, let alone lending my response to any political discourse.

I’m often too emotional in my responses to political discussions and debate. I am emotional because I’m passionate about doing the right thing in and for society. Belching and barking on Twitter isn’t going to change anyone’s mind and it just feeds the trolls.

So I’ve checked out. I’ve closed my lane for a bit. I’m on break.