Opinion | This America of Older People Doesn't Inspire Anyone Anymore

Not long ago, America was a young country. Brief history, teenage energy, room to grow in all aspects. A country that was able to get rid of a despicable racist legacy. Socially and physically mobile. If you don't like it, go somewhere else. Lots of variety. Reinventing yourself has been the hallmark of the United States.

In this America, the presidents were young. The boundless energy of Theodore Roosevelt, and the perseverance of his cousin Franklin. Young Californian Richard Nixon as Vice President to Dwight Eisenhower, who was considered inappropriately old in his 60s. john f. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama: politically different but representing that young, energetic America. The older man who infiltrated, Ronald Reagan, was such a good actor that he could portray the country's youth.

That was then. Last Thursday, two old white men did not give the impression for a single moment in an hour and a half that there was any life left in this country. The old man lied about everything and couldn’t get a positive word out of his mouth. The other old man was whining and looked like he was ready to fall over at any moment. He offered no perspective. The posting about their golf handicap was the only “discussion” in this obscene reality TV.

Quicksand

You can overlook all of this — let's just assume that Biden and Trump are just two self-righteous old people. Narcissism is of two types.

But it doesn't end there. What we saw was an apt reflection of a country that was prematurely aging and lacking in energy. A country whose inhabitants are not necessarily narcissists, but are also fundamentally self-interested. They complain and wallow in self-pity or walk around with a super-earning income in a community with which they have little connection. Even outside these two extremes, everyone is primarily concerned with themselves, or at best with their group. Nothing and no one calls anymore. It is a community held together like loose sand.

The linking bodies needed by the federal state no longer function, or, on the contrary, create inequality and division. Congress literally accomplishes nothing because what one person proposes is rejected by the other. Compromise is taboo. A constant problem is better than the other person's success.

The Party of Lincoln has become a cult led by a pathological liar who demands and gets the loyalty of dogs. A party featuring Yale and Harvard alumni Will be– Populists act against the elite they themselves are, just to maintain their own elite power. Where religious fanatics promote hateful evangelical nationalism. Where there are violent racists comment To stand.

The party of Kennedy, Clinton and Obama is so preoccupied with itself, with its subgroups, its subtleties and its correct forms, that it has forgotten that a significant portion of the country – its primary target group – is interested in survival. The party whose progressives graduated from Harvard and Princeton has formed a government without listening to those who say they are doing it for them. No wonder Congress is historically unpopular.

Choosing between these fatally handicapped candidates is very sad

The Supreme Court, intended to be a body with the maturity and oversight to protect the American republic from itself, has become politicized. The justices, committed to the conservative interpretive ideology that was a condition of their appointment, set aside precedent and issued rulings that conflicted with the wishes of the vast majority of the American population. They leave important issues to individual states, just as slavery was once defined at that level. The authority of judges has declined.

The president has always been the ultimate unifying unit of the American political system, the only person elected by all Americans. Losers always accept the results. Even if they had doubts, they were committed to the process. By continuing to challenge the results of the 2020 election, Republicans have fatally undermined the president's legitimacy for all Americans. Those who believe lies cannot help but hate the other. Those who see lies cannot help but hate liars. Loneliness is an illusion.

slow and ominous

It's not about Trump and Biden. Even if a higher power intervened and the two masters breathed their last tomorrow, it wouldn't solve much. The mold is too deep. America is not young anymore. The country was once vibrant, vibrant and exciting, but now it seems lethargic and ominous. Like these old men.

Sure, you can overstate the importance of politics. Most Americans don’t care about it, but they still express their dissatisfaction and helplessness. I’m shocked by how their country seems to be aging. They see a world power that is no longer swagger He no longer has the moral strength and self-confidence he once had. American Century.

The world has taken notice. No wonder Russia, Israel, Iran and China don’t care much about this America. Power is nonexistent. Biden is painfully impotent in Israel. Putin is counting his blessings. China keeps moving forward. The global order that America created and leads is no longer an order. And America itself is distancing itself from it. Protectionism and isolationism are no longer signs of the dark past, but the policies of today and tomorrow. Who is the boss?

This does not mean that America is weak in an absolute sense. To be sure, it is not that China might invade Taiwan tomorrow, or that America will withdraw from NATO, or that Putin will attack a NATO country.

No, the main thing is that America is no longer an inspiration. That’s what makes this choice between two mortally disabled candidates so sad. The fear is that the country will need a shock, from within or without, to get back on track. The hard truth is that Trump and Biden perfectly represent where America stands right now.

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