I started my summer reading with Emily Wilson’s recent translation of “The Iliad.” I enjoyed her version of “The Odyssey” a few years ago and needed the kind of escape from the news that I knew Homer could provide. Who needs a beach read on the eve of the political apocalypse when you can enjoy an ancient epic about a brutal war leading to the collapse of an illustrious civilization? Maybe you can relate to my mood: I want this election season over with.
I have no more outrage left to give, yet there seems to be no bottom to Donald J. Trump’s authoritarian shamelessness. Thursday’s debate between President Biden and Trump has me ducking for cover.
How the hell can we be in the same perilous position we were in four years ago? I’m a progressive Democrat. I have family members who are hardcore Catholic Republicans. We don’t talk that much, and when we do it’s almost never about politics.
Our worldviews are worlds apart, but I know they’re feeling as full of despair as I am about the state of the country. But that’s where the similarities end. We’re at an ideological stalemate, where further debate can only devolve into bitter recrimination.
I don’t know how to bridge these divides or stand up for what I believe in without sounding condemnatory. It’s hard to listen with an open mind when you’re convinced that the other person is an arsonist trying to torch your house. Yes, I admit I’m angry.
I’m angry at the way Donald Trump is waging war agai.
