Darth

 “Woe, who say “good” to evil and “evil” to good . . .”   (Isaiah, 5:20) 

I am a registered independent voter.  Often in the past I voted a split ticket.  I admit, there were even a few elections where I did not vote.  Come hell or high water or Covid, I will vote in this election.

Often, in past elections, I voted ambivalently, for whomever I felt to be the lesser of two evils.  Not this election.  This election is a choice between evil and not-evil, the force of darkness versus the force of light, Darth Vader versus Mr. Rogers.  Darth, surrounded by his all-white heavily-armed storm troopers.  Mr. Rogers, sometimes boring, sometimes hard to listen to, but empathetic, trustworthy, wanting us to get along and to be neighborly.

I struggle to understand the millions of fans who adore this Darth, and who will never be persuaded otherwise.  Why do some people admire his strutting, his posturing, and his bombast?  Why are so many willing to believe, forget, overlook, or rationalize his flagrant lies?  I can’t wrap my head around those who excuse and forgive his blatant incompetence.  I don’t understand those who seek four more years of his divisive and hate-filled speech, his racism and his support for right-wing white nationalism.

This Darth is undeniably diagnosable. At least three diagnoses from the mental health bible, DSM-5, are accurately descriptive:

·         Paranoid personality disorder is a pattern of distrust and suspiciousness such that others’ motives are interpreted as malevolent.

·         Narcissistic personality disorder is a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

·         Antisocial personality disorder is a pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.

And, by the way, this current Darth is no stable genius.  He’s not even very bright.  He’s propped up by the Hannity’s, the Ingraham’s and the Carlson’s, FOX commentators who are intelligent and articulate.  But they are ideologues, each one promoting a conservative right-wing agenda. Darth gives them some muscle. In return, they give Darth some credibility. Darth is their convenient and accommodating means to an end.  Each of them is too smart not to detect Darth’s lunacy.  But to an ideologue, any means justifies the end, even if it means supporting lies, deceit, and corruption.

I cringe at the thought that this Darth might win the election.  If he does, I will remember a line from a different story, a different movie, when the world appeared overwhelmed by darkness. “There is some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”

Never before has my generation feared violence in the aftermath of an election.  Never before has my generation felt so much at stake in one election. Never in my lifetime has democracy seemed so threatened and so fragile. Now, we anxiously wait to see how Darth and his henchmen will try to suppress the vote and subvert the election. 

I brace myself for whatever may occur after November 3rd.  May the force be with us and may the future bring us some beautiful days in the neighborhood.