NOVEMBER 20, 2019 – I apologize, or more precisely, I confess: I am a veritable political junkie; always have been and always will be. I go at it much as my in-laws go at sports. But there’s one big difference: my in-laws are die-hard fans of certain teams, whereas I’m more a fan of the game.
For us junkies, Trump and impeachment are a veritable candy shop and we are the kids in that shop. I can’t imagine how political science/government profs in undergraduate colleges and universities across America are handling the oversupply of caramel popcorn and cotton candy. I hope those profs are making the most of it, and for the sake of student debt, I sure hope the students are paying attention.
But then again, maybe the sugar high from the candy store ain’t such a good—or common—thing. Just because my in-laws can analyze every play, every call, every . . . injury . . . during the NFL season doesn’t mean that I ever should, would, or could. Likewise, simply because politics in the age of Trump’s Impeachment fascinate me doesn’t suggest that a majority of Americans should share my obsession with where the country is headed or affected politically. I mean, someone has to mind the other kinds of stores.
For a little perspective, I recently glanced back at the Clinton impeachment proceedings—the vote in the House, ruled by Republicans, and the acquittal in the Senate, where Democrats held the majority. I was amazed by how little I, a political junkie, remembered of (paid attention to?) the proceedings. I do remember the House vote, and I also remember listening to live reporting on public radio when the Senate voted, but beyond that, it’s all a fog of ancient times.
Maybe I was too distracted by sports—namely, my sons’ many soccer games.
In any event, soon after Clinton’s impeachment and acquittal, America went back to what it does—pretty much everything and living the good life, mostly, if your luck (effort, education, privilege) allowed it, for another three years.
Little did any of us anticipate future distractions, real (9/11; the mortgage blow-out) and imagined (Y2K doomsday scenarios). Little did we grasp the costs and consequences of invading Iraq and Afghanistan. And little did we understand the urgency of curtailing carbon emissions. Clinton’s impeachment had little influence on these subsequent developments.
So now, maybe the junkie in me needs to settle down and take a deep breath, just as a rabid Packers fan has to get over a platter of grated cheese left behind by a Vikings fan. Maybe I need to leave the political science candy shop for a time and take a hike down less well-lit streets in town. Or better yet, repair to the Northwoods to tend to my white pine seedlings before the onset of winter.
Call it “going into treetment.” I’ll keep you posted, as it were, on my progress.
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© 2019 Eric Nilsson
