OCTOBER 30, 2026 – With the accelerating approach of Election Day, many of us are glued to our screens, filled with a mix of hope and anxiety. Will the Blue Wave actually be a wave that crashes ashore and covers the whole Republican beach or will a Democratic “win” be little more than a rising tide that reaches a few chairs and umbrellas without inundating the whole Republican sandbox? If it’s a wave, will it be veto-proof?
Or—perish the thought—what if all polls are wrong, and the Republicans retain control of both House and Senate? Or Trump unleashes major shenanigans to disrupt the looming results—or actual results—thereby plunging the mid-terms into chaos and uncertainty. How then will Americans; Democrats respond?
Or—again, perish the thought—what if all polls are wrong, and the Republicans retain control of both House and Senate? Or Trump unleashes major shenanigans to disrupt the looming results—or actual results—thereby plunging the mid-terms into chaos and uncertainty. How then will Americans; Democrats response?
Even if the Democrats prevail by way of a surfer’s dream wave, what then? How far should investigations go? When, if at all, should impeachment proceedings be launched against Trump? Against Hegseth? Against others? Should investigations/impeachment be deferred until policy imperatives can be addressed? How much trouble might we see from a cornered lame duck president whose brand is chaos?
But most pressing will be the toughest question of all: Where do we go from here—as a polity, as a society?
How will we achieve sufficient cohesion to accommodate cogent and stable bipartisan leadership? (Are we even governable anymore?)
How can we devise a more inter-generationally equitable economy?
How can we reconcile short election cycles with solutions and remedies that require long-term planning?
How do we budget for essential infrastructure investment and pay for healthcare without being crippled by inflation?
How do we manage the looming insolvency of social security?
How will funding of the sciences and medical research be restored?
How will USAID be re-established and America’s “soft power” recovered?
How do we reform the tax code to address inequities? How do we reform the tax code further to raise revenues without stifling new-business formation or existing business expansion?
How can we promote a values-based society ahead of one obsessed with consumption and financial sustenance?
When will we address accelerating anthropogenic degradation of the planet?
How do we break the grip of the gun lobby?
How do we orchestrate justice and ensure accountability over Epstein?
When and how can the decision in Citizens United be overruled or curtailed to allow for meaningful legislation reducing the corrosive effect of money on politics?
Who will lead restoration of our reputation among nations? How will we convince other countries to trust what we say and rely on what we’ll do?
How will we end the war against Iran and deal with the altered geo-political landscape?
How will we address regulation of AI?
What can we do to ameliorate conditions that lead to uncontrolled and destabilizing mass migration?
How do we prepare for the next pandemic? What contingency planning do we need to undertake for breakdowns of infrastructure?
When can America be normal again? Or is that the problem—it’s never been normal? Should 50 states be reorganized according to half a dozen regions?
How can the foregoing questions—and a hundred more—fundamental to our welfare and future as a sovereign nation be broadly communicated, received, discussed and answered?
In a post years ago, I urged a giant national mediation session. But I remember asking, “Who would lead it?” Mediation is the process by which a neutral mediator helps parties in dispute to see their common interests. Conceptually, they work on a large Venn diagram—two over-lapping circles, each circle representing all the interests of each of the disputants. The object, then, is to maximize the area of overlap. In effect, that section becomes the settlement territory where the parties are most likely to find common ground and resolution of their differences.
If only we Americans could participate in mediation in which the questions above (and a hundred more) could be laid on the table. If only we could spend an hour, a day, a week to see the vast extent to which our interests ultimately overlap, directly and indirectly. Maybe then we could find the motivation and imagination to envision a better country; then work to create it.
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© 2026 by Eric Nilsson
