I realize we’re in our post-election honeymoon period during which everyone has amnesia or hangovers, and platitudes are the order of the day, but in consideration of journalistic integrity — if we’re still doing that — honesty is in order.

We can’t “sane-tize” this. This has been the weirdest damn thing. And it may get even weirder.

I went to bed early Election Eve after practicing for the passage of Measure 5 before waking with a start in a sea of Oreo crumbs, clicked on the news, and wondered how I could have been so out-of-touch with half of the country. Like conservatives did in 2020.

My first “World is Gonna End Election” was in 1980, when I convinced two other people — my roommate and his girlfriend — to vote for Ed Clark, a libertarian running with David Koch (Yeah, that Koch brother, but who knew?) Clark promised to legalize marijuana. On the other hand, I was convinced Reagan was going to blow up the world.

Besides, hey, weed.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, I hit my snooze bar while my iPhone pinged away with wellness checks. Friends wanted to know how I was doing. Just fine. Better than fine. Measure No. 5 passed, didn’t it?

Besides, democracy worked. There will be a peaceful transfer of power. No insurrection. The new/old administration won in an electoral landslide and in the popular vote. Democracy worked in 2016, too, right up to that tourist thing, but after one unsatisfactory term, voters decided to return the reins to the Democratic Party.

Dems, you had your chance. But these voters, they’re an impatient lot. Democrats may think they did pretty well, but each party has their own news echo chamber, and that’s not what the Republican “news” network was saying. Did I wonder earlier how we could be so out of touch with the other half of the country? That’s how. Their perspective is their reality.

That said, I’ve always believed that we are bound by greater things. Brotherhood, kindness, the rule of law. Those things have historically (but not always smoothly) won out. Now we shall see if everyone still cherishes the U.S. Constitution.

America’s democracy has been called a grand experiment, “a Republic if you can keep it.” Now, Republicans have the White House, Senate, Supreme Court and the House.

Democracy was intentionally constructed to have more brakes than acceleration. This is a rare opportunity for any party. We shall see what Republicans do with it. If they’re willing to implement constitutional guardrails from within the party. Whether we’re still neighbors instead of enemies of the neighborhood. Whether in four years, voters will be able to judge our progress in a free election.

© Tony Bender, 2024

Tony J Bender’s columns also can be found online and in hard copy at the Wishek Star and Ashley Tribune.