It turns out I’ve been asking the wrong questions about the presidential candidates in the 2024 U.S. election.
For years I’ve been judging the general American public who seems to think that the best question is who will be the most fun to watch run for president? I thought it was bad for the country and world that many people choose candidates as if they were picking a character on a TV show. And because I was asking a different question, I rarely got the same answer as anyone else.
Wrong question #1:Â who will make the best actual president?Â
Wrong question #2:Â who will make the best candidate for president?
The right question is the same one I’ve been judging everyone else for asking: Who will make for the best live TV?
Now that we know the question to ask, what’s the right approach to take with Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris? According to the book I’m reading (Existential Kink by Carolyn Elliott, PhD), the right approach is to enjoy whatever we’re judging in ourselves or others.
You see we (the world, the American public, the voters) created this reality TV show called The American Presidential Election through our thoughts, beliefs, opinions, and conclusions (see: which presidential election movie are you projecting?). We created all the characters/candidates. As spirits in human bodies on a human plane, we are super excited about The Apprentice vs. Veep and can’t wait to see the latest episode.
But as the prideful opinion-laden judgmental pricks we simultaneously are, we may despise one of the candidates and shimmer between ecstasy and fear over the other. As long as we don’t admit that we absolutely love to hate the candidate that we hate and that our unconscious mind is giving that candidate super high ratings, we’re going to keep recreating this scenario.
The only solution, says Existential Kink, is to really dig it. Watch the news and just get into it. Enjoy the highs, the lows, the oohs and ahs. Put on your most comfortable Judgy McJudgy Pants with plenty of room for (figurative) popcorn and binge binge binge. Only by embracing the character we love to hate (and admitting that we love it) can we stop creating the character we love to hate on the world stage.
Who is with me on the couch? Let’s enjoy the living duck out of this American election …
Previous pieces on the presidential race:
which presidential election movie are you projecting?
the-many-spiritual-gifts-of-the-presidential-candidates
Previous pieces on Kamala Harris:
kamala-harris-a-san-francisco-sellout-we-should-all-get-behind
kamala-harris-and-the-power-of-the-word
Previous pieces on Donald Trump:
bless-donald-trump-for-helping-us-remember-who-we-are
when can we stop talking about him?
americas-dysfunctional-family-reality-tv-show-father-knows-worst
Previous pieces on Joe Biden:
bernie-likes-joe-biden-why-dont-you
biden-should-run-but-so-should-others