Anyone else feel like they’ve been hit by a truck?

Between the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and Joe Biden ending his re-election campaign, there’s been a lot of political whiplash.

Photographer and fellow nerd Nicolas MacPherson pretty much summed it all up on Threads Sunday:

“As a Canadian and longtime watcher of the U.S. reality show ‘The Election,’ I just have to say, you’ve really kicked it up a notch this season and all the props to the writers and cast. This whole idea to recast at the last minute, brilliant bit of storytelling, truly captivating stuff.

“*someone whispers in ear*

“… WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S REAL?!?!?!!!”

I wasn’t yet born in 1968, the last time a sitting president bowed out of his re-election campaign, so I have nothing to compare this to in terms of seismic importance in my lifetime. Jan. 6, 2021, might be one point of reference that comes in handy, at least in the sense that it all seems completely unreal.

Trump posted 10 times on Truth Social between Biden dropping out and Monday morning, according to Brett Samuels of The Hill, in one post declaring, “The Democrats pick a candidate, Crooked Joe Biden, he loses the Debate badly, then panics, and makes mistake after mistake, is told he can’t win, and decide they will pick another candidate, probably Harris. They stole the race from Biden after he won it in the primaries—A First! These people are the real THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”

In another post, he wrote, “It’s a new day and Joe Biden doesn’t remember quitting the race yesterday! He is demanding his campaign schedule and arranging talks with Presidents Xi of China, and Putin of Russia, concerning the possible start of World War 3. Biden is ‘sharp, decisive, energetic, angry, and ready to go!’” Then he posted, “Who is running our Country right now? It’s not Crooked Joe, he has no idea where he is. If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country!!!”

Well, if nothing else, he hasn’t forgotten how to tell tall tales or mock Biden … or anyone else with whom he disagrees. Can’t we please get past this sort of rhetoric (and overuse of exclamation marks and capital letters; this editor has had enough of it)? Of course not, and I’m sure much worse is coming. (I’ve already seen a resurgence of the old “Kamala slept her way to the top” trope, plus there’s all the stuff about “childless cat ladies” and the idea that stepmothers aren’t real mothers. Sheesh.)

No matter who you want as president, surely you see that the political rhetoric has gone way too far. Or maybe you don’t; maybe that toxic talk is what has drawn you in, in which case, I’d suggest that you re-examine your priorities.

I would hope that what we all most want is for our government to function as it should, meaning that Congress does its part on making laws (instead of focusing on making hyperpartisan hay), the Supreme Court interprets the law according to the Constitution and precedent (rather than stretching to make partisan points that don’t even mesh with their own rulings), and the president focuses on the executive tasks assigned by the Constitution.

There are things that only government can do on the scale required, such as deal with infrastructure issues, so we need it, as much as it may rankle at times. More hyperpartisan politics is the last thing needed if we’re to survive as a country.

Let’s all just take a moment and gauge where we are. Is what we’re doing now anywhere near what the founding fathers, especially George Washington, would have imagined for us? While some of the founders could be—ahem—more than a bit unrestrained in their rhetoric (Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, for example), they still saw the wisdom of working for the greater good, something that seems to have been lost in all the craziness of the past decade or so. Now political sniping, division and worse often keep government from doing its job, and the people suffer for it.

If we want to see 250, perhaps we ought to think about that and endeavor to do better, be better. We could strip politics of the bulk of its toxicity and learn to work together again. Maybe then every political bit of news won’t feel like a truck hitting us.

And for the asshat who posted the fake letter about Jimmy Carter dying, and all those who reposted it: Please, step away from the Internet. You’re just making things worse for the sake of your own entertainment. Be better.

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

For me, there was one more bit of news that hit me very hard over this past weekend: My sister-in-law Karen died of a heart attack Saturday morning. Karen, a bit of a force behind the scenes in Republican politics in her county in Oklahoma, was well-loved and didn’t suffer fools.

After Mama died in 2019, she essentially became our matriarch, and was our rock. She checked on oldest brother Mitch all the time while trying to keep brother Kevin (her husband) in line (not easy to do) and taking care of details with her son Dalton. She’s always been a real sister to me, in word and deed. When I lost my car keys while visiting for Dalton’s wedding, she was the one who stepped in to find a locksmith friend to help me. When Corey died, she was there for all of us, making sure we were OK. Basically, any time any of us needed a shoulder to cry on or a hand to help, she was there.

Staying busy with work is helping keep me together right now, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not struggling.

I love you, Sis, and I miss you already. Rest now.