The song says “Summertime and the livin’ is easy”. August is the height of summer vacation season. We call it the “Dog Days” because the dog star Sirius rises at the same time as the sun. The ancient Greeks figured it out. August used to be called “Sextilis” because it was originally the sixth month on the Roman calendar. Then the Romans added January and February pushing August to the eighth month, and it only had 29 days. Julius Caesar decided to create his own calendar, the Julian, of course. He did give August two extra days. Maybe to try to make up for the push back, or maybe to give us two more days before we have to go back to school. It finally got the name Augustus from the first Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. Emperors can do that. We use the term to mean the hot, humid, let’s jump in the pool days before we have to go back to work and school. Even presidents go on vacation in August.
Presidential campaigns usually take a little down time in August after the political conventions. They know many people are on vacation, and won’t be paying attention to what they have to say until after Labor Day. Not this year. The Trump-Clinton Summer Festival is in full swing. No time for a break in the 24 hour news cycle. We will be able to remember this August as the first time in history a presidential candidate may have actually indirectly threatened his opponent with assassination. I wonder where it will fit with some of the other historical events that happened in August like the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, the Nixon resignation, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, the Manson murders, how about Woodstock.
This campaign is like a wildfire burning down a California mountain side threatening homes below. Will the firefighters be able to stop the fire and save our country? Maybe we should all be using August to turn off the madness for a while. But we can’t seem to look away from Trump. The hot August sun hasn’t wilted his hair spray. Just when we thought he couldn’t say anything more ridiculous or irresponsible he continues to surprise us. But it’s almost sad that a small minority of people are so unhappy and desperate that they are being taken in by this guy.
This campaign is showing us that the livin’ isn’t so easy for the country. There is fear, mistrust, and disappointment. Maybe the biggest disappointment for me is the failure of the Republican political leadership to stand up to Trump. They continue to be offended by his behavior. They issue their own statements of outrage when he does something offensive, but they refuse to say “enough”. They refuse to pull their endorsements. Paul Ryan, the Speaker of House, the highest elected Republican official in the country, the family man who goes home to his family every weekend, refuses to act like a leader with any guts. He hesitated endorsing Trump, but held his nose and finally gave in. He said it would be easier to get the Republican agenda passed with Trump in the White House than Hilary Clinton. He doesn’t seem to realize Trump is destroying the very Republican party Ryan wants to protect.
I’m not taking my own advice to turn off the madness for the dog dogs of summer. It’s okay to try to look away while you’re enjoying August. But November is coming. The mad dog will be barking louder and louder with each passing day. Only you can stop the madness.
Voting is both a right and a privilege denied to many. Now, perhaps more than any other time in our history, it is critical. There is only one clear choice to continue to lead this great country. Well written Michael.
You’re referring to the Pantsuit Princess as the clear choice?
This is a race to the bottom, with both candidates just as shallow as Mike’s stolen kiddie pool.