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More exciting than it needed to be
Nov. 8th, 2020 10:51 amFuture political scientists will glance at the results of the election, see that Biden won by a comfortable margin, and be all "so what was all the drama about?".
The emerging narrative is that the results are about a return to the status quo. In 2016, it goes, lots of people wanted things shaken up, and now people feel that things have been shaken sufficiently. In fact this narrative was already emerging before the election. I saw it summed up best in this Politico article: "In short, Biden’s promise is to be a post-emetic presidency. Saltines and ginger ale for starters, and something more solid once we feel ready."
Oregon's little moment in the national spotlight is that we passed a measure legalizing magic mushrooms. Well, not quite. Psilobycin will allowed for therapeutic uses, but tightly regulated, and only starting in 2023
The statistic I'm happiest about is that this election had the highest turnout since the year 1900. A lot has been written lately about how fragile democracy can turn out to be, but the point at which things really start to break down is when people disengage from the democratic process completely. If that many people still feel that voting is worth it, then I think we're okay for a while.
( CW: Partisan political opinions )
The emerging narrative is that the results are about a return to the status quo. In 2016, it goes, lots of people wanted things shaken up, and now people feel that things have been shaken sufficiently. In fact this narrative was already emerging before the election. I saw it summed up best in this Politico article: "In short, Biden’s promise is to be a post-emetic presidency. Saltines and ginger ale for starters, and something more solid once we feel ready."
Oregon's little moment in the national spotlight is that we passed a measure legalizing magic mushrooms. Well, not quite. Psilobycin will allowed for therapeutic uses, but tightly regulated, and only starting in 2023
The statistic I'm happiest about is that this election had the highest turnout since the year 1900. A lot has been written lately about how fragile democracy can turn out to be, but the point at which things really start to break down is when people disengage from the democratic process completely. If that many people still feel that voting is worth it, then I think we're okay for a while.
( CW: Partisan political opinions )
