People are scared right now. Really, really scared. Which is concerning as we head towards what some consider to be the most important presidential election in history. Rational thought has been cast aside more readily than I've ever seen during an election. People are crazed with wild fantasies of how the other candidate is going to destroy the country. We are living in a Kingdom of Fear.
And maybe it's always been this way. After all, I've only been alive for one (1) election that didn't involve an incumbent or a sitting vice president. And I was 3, going on 4. It's been a really long time since the last time an election didn't involve an incumbent or sitting vice-president. But I think what seems different this time around from anything I remember is that this election has become the perfect storm of a country that appears to be at a major crossroads and a presidential election featuring two fairly unknown quantities who are both promising big change and the way to salvation from the current mess we're in, both using very emotional appeals. People are whipped into a frenzy.
It's funny, because 8 years ago I would've thought people were being overly dramatic and in need of calming down. I remember thinking in 2000 that no matter who was elected, things would continue along more or less the same course, with slight tweaks here or there depending on who won. Politicians aren't interested in shaking things up and ruffling feathers, after all. They are interested in not pissing people off so that they can get re-elected. I was of the mindset that candidates are never as bad as they seem or as good as they seem. But after seeing what has taken place during the current administration, suddenly all of the election related hyperbole bouncing around seems a little less ridiculous.
Anyways, the Daily Show did a piece on the irrational fear that seems to be common across party lines this time around. And while it's funny, I think it's also really insightful.