The presidential election is next week, and here in the office, people are restless. Like
everyone else in America, we’re waiting for the results, and unsure of the future. It’s the only thing we talk about. At once, people seem confident and tentative at what next Tuesday night’s results will show. Personally, like it or not, I think President Trump will be reelected, though I think there is a good chance the Senate will flip blue. With Senator Linsey Graham’s contradictory stances on the election of Supreme Court justices in an election year (“use this against me…”), Senator Joni Ernst’s inability to recall the price of soybeans in Iowa, Cal Cunningham’s momentum in North Carolina, and Scott Kelly’s momentum in Arizona, I think there are plenty of areas for Democrats to win out in the upper chamber. Meanwhile, though the pandemic has altered things, I don’t know if I think America is willing to leave behind Trump. His active campaigning through his presidency has kept his base in line, while increased partisanship has cemented many Republican and single-issue conservative voters to Trump by association. In any case, not a lot of work is getting done as we wait. I think that no matter the results, folks are going to be happy that the election is over. There is a palpable uncertainty here that we’re all fearful to address. Around town, storefronts from Farragut Square to McLean Gardens are boarding up their windows and doors. There’s fears that the pandemic won’t dissuade people from rioting if the results don’t break one way or another. Back at my apartment, my roommate is stocking up on non-perishables, just in case it’s not safe to go out for a while. In my classes, professors have been encouraging us to prepare for civil unrest around the country as we grapple with the results of the election. Tensions are high, and fear seeps in whenever one begins to think too hard on what the results could be. I’d like to get to work as usual, and I know everyone else feels the same way, but for now it just feels like we’re captives. Captives waiting for our future to be determined by an unknown mass of people. It’s a scary reality to be living through. For all of the chronic stress I and everyone else have been feeling due to the pandemic, this added acute stress and anxiety isn’t great for one’s mental health. I just look forward to being able to get back out and live life normally again. With no election stress, no pandemic stress, just health, safety, security, and freedom. The thought of that future is helping me pull through this week as we wait. I hope it comes sooner rather than later. For now, I wait and pray.
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Mike Juvrud