Running Wild

When I hear people mention that election season is approaching or that we are just now in the midst of it, I can almost feel the air from the commentary going over my head before it rolls down my back. Isn't it always election season? When was the break? I'm not sure if you felt it, but I sure didn't.

It would be easy to blame the negative gravity of this cycle on 24/7 news coverage or the far-reaching power and implications of big money in politics. While I think there are definitely issues to be addressed with both of those things, there's a deeper root pushing the "season" to grow longer and longer with each election.

The idea of identity politics isn't new, but its proliferation into America is. Rooting for politicians and political parties like sports teams has given permission to constituencies on both sides of the aisle to hate the other side, and worse yet, not question the tenets of their own position in the room. I have been a lifelong Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders fan in spite of the complete lack of incentive to continue my fandom. Continuing to vote their way, if a politician were to let me down the way this sports franchise has, would be the absolute definition of insanity.

Yes, I do know who I'm voting for in November. And no, there's almost no conceivable scenario where I would waiver on this decision. But, I do not intend to wear a jersey with his name or a baseball hat with his logo when I go to the polls. Likewise, I will not be wearing the color body paint of the party I am registered to. To be clear, no one my age should be wearing body paint of any kind. To bring the metaphor home, I'd like to note that I'm not rooting for this team, just as I am not rooting against the other one. It is my greatest hope, when they are the ones who win the elections, that I was wrong and that their recipe for a better America works in a way I wasn't smart enough to envision. If there is in fact still a team to be rooting for, we're all on the same one.

Whether it is out of boredom or a true desire to make this country better, throwing ourselves completely into politics and the farthest-leaning conspiracies the internet has to offer is digging a hole deep enough that our children will still be climbing out of 30 years from now – that is assuming they're smart enough to head for higher ground. At the end of this election cycle, I would ask that we all move to champion our greatest ideals, as opposed to the politicians or parties that may claim them as well. Maybe then we will be able to take a breather before the next election cycle starts up again.

Ryan Wilkerson grew up in Iowa and now lives in Idaho with his wife and son. He can be reached at [email protected].