18 Non-Political Points about Politics
October 2024: What the 2024 U.S. Election Can Teach Us about Happiness
The election is here. Millions have already voted. Election Day itself is 10 days away. As I’m sure you’re inundated with content, and given this is a newsletter about finding happiness, I’ve decided to provide a nonpartisan take that will hopefully provide some life lessons and introspective questions for you. I truly believe it should resonate with you no matter how far away from me you are on the political spectrum. Interestingly, you can measure how wrong you are by the distance between us. Did you know that? Fascinating. Anyway, here goes…
1.
For decades, musicians tried to integrate the two genres of popular music most different from each other: rap and country. Anytime they tried, they failed. In 2004, Nelly and Tim McGraw shat out “Over and Over,” ironically named because I had a hard time listening to it more than once. Nelly also tried to spice up Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” and this was embarrassing for all involved. There once was a man named Cowboy Troy and that’s really all we need to say about him. Jason Aldean attempted it with “Dirt Road Anthem.” Finally, in 2019, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus made “Old Town Road,” equal parts rap and country, racking up billions of YouTube views. That same year, Blanco Brown dropped “The Git Up,” which wasn’t too bad, either. And ironically, despite bridging the gap between these two fan bases, Americans are more divided than ever.
Hey, we all often take three steps forward and two steps back. Where are you making progress? Where are you regressing?
2.
If Kamala Harris wins, it proves we can shorten our election season. That reason alone might be enough for me to root for her to win, regardless of whether she’s a D or an R. Couldn’t we all use the last two years for something more productive than following a Presidential election, only to restart the process (hopefully) in two years?
How much time have you sunk into caring too much about the outcome? If not the election, do you have an unhealthy obsession? Is someone or something living rent-free in your head?
3.
Trump learned this lesson: this time around, he’s instructing his followers to vote early.
What’s the last lesson you learned? And how are you implementing it in your leadership style? Remember that learning is a lifelong process.
4.
I stopped learning at the age of 38. The last thing I learned was good, though: Political commentator Caitlin Flanagan said we should engage with the other side’s best argument. Too often, we try to find the weak link in the chain and point all of our efforts at that. That’s fine if you define winning an argument as destroying your opponent. (Attacking those who disagree with you as misogynists and racists or as vermin and far-left lunatics is a bad faith argument.) But if you view arguments as opportunities to grow, then it behooves you to listen, meet the discussion at its apex, and take the conversation to a higher place.
Are you in the middle of an ongoing argument? Are you trying to pulverize your spouse/coworker/friend or are you actually trying to evolve?
5.
Harris has changed her stances on myriad issues. When pressed on why she now supports fracking, she stated simply that her values hadn’t changed. That’s an unsatisfactory answer, when even a political notice knows fracking is a pivotal issue in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Wouldn’t a better response have been…? “Now that I’ve served in the nation’s second highest office for nearly four years, I’ve learned a lot. That’s the benefit of experience.”
You can change your mind. People will understand. But it helps to have a good explanation.
6.
Louis CK (Rest in Peace) does this bit about those who stand by you during your time of need. They’re called Black people.
I admire Harris’ loyalty to Joey Biden. But if she loses this thing, it’ll probably be because she said on The View that she’d have done nothing differently from Biden. Wrong answer about a President with a 39% approval rating. Again, this is a layup: “There’s no point in looking backward. It’s important that we show a united front. But sure, no two people agree on everything. And while I’m directionally on-board with Biden’s policies, I think we could’ve gone further on x and maybe not gone as far on y. Which brings me back to my plan. Going forward, I believe we should…”
President Bill Clinton famously blindsided rapper Sister Souljah for her lyrics. Though not egregious as President George H.W. Bush’s Willie Horton ad, it was a dirty trick: the Black female musician was hardly a household name. But what it did was illustrate Clinton’s line in the sand. It was a dog whistle to moderates. “Hey, I’m left-of-center, but I’m not beholden to the Far Left of my party.” It was one of many contributing factors to his victory.
Harris has not distanced herself from the Democratic Party’s fringes. That’s a shame, because the Far Right of the Republican party has captured it. The number of equivalent elected national Democrats pales in comparison. Beyond the four members of the Squad, you’d be hard-pressed to find liberals in office who support defunding the police, granting amnesty to illegals, and taking away all of our guns.
What do you do to differentiate yourself from your in-group? Do you speak out against your team when it goes against your principles? Where do you throw “the one that brung ya” under the bus?
7.
There’s a captivating scene toward the end of this millennium’s second best film, There Will Be Blood, when Daniel Day-Lewis’ character says, “I told you what I was going to do.”
Trump’s gonna do something. On this, I think we all agree. Everyone (even and especially his adversaries) knows he’s going to take action on immigration, crime, and the economy. His supporters support him, and his opponents, well, oppose him. But we don’t doubt his intent. Harris holds the advantage on one issue: abortion. Based on what she’s said, we know she’ll push to enshrine abortion rights nationally. (The bad news for her is neither side has enough votes to legalize or “illegalize” the procedure.)
Do your teammates know your intentions? Have you made yourself clear?
8.
It’s hard to go out on top. Seinfeld didn’t do it. Season 9 was by far its worst season. Michael Jordan didn’t do it. Despite swearing he never wanted to end up like Jackie Robinson, with the incessant clip of being thrown out at second base, he just couldn’t bring himself to retire after hitting the Championship-winning shot in Game 6 against the Utah Jazz.
The only entertainers I can think of are the Beatles and Johnny Carson. Abbey Road is arguably their best album. And the king of the talk show hosts left the stage and never sought the limelight again. He walked on to David Letterman’s set merely to say goodbye without saying a word. And then we never heard from him again.
Joe Biden had the opportunity to pull a James Polk: get as much done as you can in four years and exit stage right. This isn’t a critique as much as it is an observation: hell, Led Zeppelin, the second greatest rock band ever, retired only once their legendary drummer died. Why is this so difficult? Is it the glory? The power? The desire to rewrite one’s legacy while one still can? I don’t know. But despite his low approval rating, history would probably have judged Biden kindly for giving up the crown on his own terms instead of being forced out in ignominy.
What is it you’re currently doing where you can feel you’re past your prime? Why are you still doing it? Not saying you should quit: but be clear about your intentions.
9.
Both Presidential candidates have awful records when it comes to turnover. More than 90% of Kamala Harris’ staff quit or were fired during her Vice Presidential term. Nearly every single person who served in Donald Trump’s Cabinet has come out against him.
Are you still friends with people who “knew you when”? What’s your rate of turnover? If you haven’t been able to maintain your relationships, why do you think that is? In other words, why are you such an asshole?
10.
Harris has hemorrhaged support from the Black and Latino communities. This isn’t amazing news for her, but in the long-term, this is a good thing for democracy. It means we’re playing identity politics less. If we’re going to embrace the idea of not judging our character by the color of our skin, People of Color should move away from the knee-jerk reaction of feeling like we need to vote for the liberal party because we’re afraid of conservatives. It allows underserved groups to participate fully in the process, bringing their whole selves to the voting booth.
“Don’t judge me by the color of my skin. Judge me by its thickness.” — Rajiv Satyal
11.
“What you have to understand is that the public has a very short memory.
But corporations, they never forget.”
— Martin Scorsese, Quiz Show (1994)
Trump has done a masterful job of dichotomizing the economy as BC and AC: Before and After Covid. Of course, the coronavirus spread happened during this term. But he has framed it up so people remember the economy as good on his watch and bad on his successor’s. It’s not dissimilar from how people remember government bailouts during the 2008 financial crash. TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) began under George Bush but most people associate it with Barack Obama.
How good are you at persuasion? Are you able to frame things effectively so that perception trumps (heh) reality?
12.
I believe anyone born in the US between 1972 and 1980 (the younger half of Gen X) has lived better than anyone in history. The Iranian hostage crisis, depicted beautifully in the rewatchable 2012 Best Picture Argo, had to be a scary time. By the time Ronald Reagan took office and the hostages were released, it truly seemed like nothing THAT bad hit Americans till Columbine in 1999. Sure, there were rough moments: the AIDS epidemic (’80s-’90s), Challenger (1986), Persian Gulf War (1990-’91), LA riots (1992), and the OKC bombing (1995). But one of the tragedies of AIDS is how underreported it was, diminishing its impact. Challenger was shocking, but only seven people perished. We were never in danger of losing to Iraq. The LA riots were localized to one city, as was what Timothy McVeigh did in Oklahoma. But there’s a reason the 1980s and 1990s are often referred to as “the end of history.” As George Costanza pitched NBC: “NO. NO. NOTHING HAPPENS.” History, as it were, didn’t resume until September 11 (though I’d argue Columbine shattered me in a way from which I never fully recovered). If you were born in 1972, you were around eight when the hostages were released, so probably too young to fully comprehend what was going on. And if you were born in 1980, you were already out of high school for Columbine.
Why bring all this up? To remind my peers how lucky we’ve been. And now we may have to steel ourselves for quite some time. Other generations didn’t get the breather we did. Given all of our emotional deposits, it’s time to take some withdrawals.
13.
We’re going to need that mental fortitude. We’re facing challenges more daunting than ever: the debt is too high, the drugs are too strong, the guns are too powerful, social media is a blight on our senses, and the potential downsides of AI are straight-up terrifying. Whenever people say, “The next 15 years will be tough,” I like to remind them the last 10 years haven’t exactly been a cakewalk. I’d heard recently that we’re already in a low-grade civil war — this is just what it feels like. Attempted assassinations, an unparalleled distrust of institutions, demonizing the other side, political and cultural assaults on our fellow citizens… it’s already here. One of my dreams has been to see a tornado up close. I know, I know. It’s insane. But it took years before I realized I’ve already been in one. 14 March 2008. Atlanta. I was performing for NACA and a twister swept through the city. We were safe in a very large hotel, but we heard, saw, and felt the effects of the 130-mph winds. It’s easy to forget the dangers when you’re protected, much like many of us who’ve spent much of our lives in the suburbs. But just as it’s unusual for a tornado to strike an urban area, it’s unusual for civil unrest to make it OUT of an urban area. City life has been turbulent for a long time. A tornado watch is when conditions are right for a tornado; a tornado warning is when one has been spotted in your area. I wouldn’t take it lightly that we might be at the alert level of a Civil War Warning.
Check in with yourself. Mind your pack. Take care of those around you. Be sure you spend some time in your happy place.
14.
Whoever the election is about loses. You don’t need anything further to illustrate how cynical our society has become. For several election cycles, millions of us have voted for “the lesser of two evils.” We’ve cast our ballots against something rather than for something. And that’s exhausting. Just because you have two very different choices doesn’t mean you have a good choice. In Ricky Gervais’ incredible series Extras, his character’s best friend incessantly asks these inane questions, one being…
Maggie: Would you rather have all your food too salty or too sweet?
Andy: Doesn't matter if it’s “too” anything, it's rubbish, isn't it?
Maggie: You see, I would have too salty.
Andy: Well, no, that would be rubbish; if it's too salty it would be rubbish.
Maggie: Yeah, but I like savory things.
Andy: Yeah, but you said, “too salty,” which means it's horrible.
Maggie: I like crisps.
Andy: Oh, don't ask me any more questions.
And most citizens believe that’s where we are right now. One upbeat caveat to this is what comedian Tim Dillon said: Whoever’s throwing the party wins. During Brat Summer, Kamala’s Joy Tour looked like the party.
But then enter Trump serving at McD’s and swaying to Ave Maria, and it feels like his rallies are the party once again.
How about you? Do your get-togethers feel like the party? What are you doing to make the meetings you lead feel like the party?
15.
Another way we’re being exhausted is that we keep hearing how “this is the most important election of our lifetimes.” Yeah, they said that four years ago, four years before that, and it’s turtles all the way down.
Last weekend in Chicago, I crashed with a couple of friends whose boys are now teenagers. They blasphemed in the Windy City by arguing that LeBron James is greater than Michael Jordan. I already know what I think (James is better, Jordan is greater), so I wanted to hear their argument.
They made the point I was hoping they would: the game gets bigger. There’s no longer an offseason. Physical fitness is on a whole ’nother level. And so it is with politics. The risk, though, is that when we consider the other side an existential threat (literally, like we may no longer go on in our current form), we no longer play to win. We play not to lose. And we certainly don’t play to govern.
Taylor Alexander, the musician with whom I toured my show Taking a Stand, was at my 2016 election party when Harsha and I had just bought our Burbank house. He lamented the fact that we were so sad, pointing out that this is an intramural. We’re all supposed to be on the same side. Or as Lorde put it, “We’re on each other’s team.”
Are you guilty of doing this with anything in your life? Are you so scared of losing that you’re playing not to lose? If so, maybe you can go work for Zac Taylor. I swear the Cincinnati Bengals head coach has embraced that strategy this season. Life’s a game. Play to win.
16.
“If you’re mad at someone lower on the socioeconomic ladder than you,
chances are you’re being manipulated
by someone higher on the socioeconomic ladder than you.”
— Comedian Jimmy Dore
Are you thinking your own thoughts or are you shilling what you’re being told?
17.
Watch out for inconsistencies. I believe Trump is an existential threat to the United States. But I’m not sure the Democrats truly do. If they did, Merrick Garland would’ve brought his cases earlier. Republicans don’t worry about this little thing called proof. They impeached Biden SO THAT they could find evidence during the process. Moreover, if Trump is so bad, why would Biden run again? The man is senile. And the Democrats would anoint a Black female Californian to take him down? Hardly the mascot I would’ve picked to march into battle against fascism. And why didn’t a more formidable running mate like Gavin Newsom emerge? The likely explanation is they don’t care enough about the country to risk their own political futures. They’re looking to 2028, and a more selfish act I cannot imagine. A traditional primary would’ve almost undoubtedly yielded a stronger ticket, something like Gretchen Whitmer/Josh Shapiro, which would’ve had a much higher chance of sweeping the upper Midwest states the Democrats so desperately need to win.
Do your actions mirror your words? Are you saying one thing but doing another?
18.
Louis CK (Peace be upon him) does a great bit about how humans got out of the food chain.
We often forget what a massive upgrade that is. We don’t have to worry about what would be apex predators in any other ecosystem chasing us down the street. And so it is with privilege. I don’t mean the way the Left uses that word. I simply mean those of us who’ve profited from the confluence of the five ingredients needed for success: luck, love, talent, desire and drive.
Luck: I think of it in the cosmic sense of “geography is destiny,” being born between 1972 and 1980, benefiting from the support of caring parents/guardians, not suffering from mental or physical illnesses, etc.
Love: This is self-evident… the support from those around us, including ourselves.
Talent: A high level of congenital ability.
Desire and Drive: The fire that burns within and the work ethic to get out of bed everyday and do it.
My wife and I hit the jackpot. We have all five of those in spades to the point that circumstances are nearly meaningless. During a tour of the iconic prison Alcatraz, I learned the current carries a swimmer directly to a patrolled base. The water is moving at three miles per hour, which doesn’t sound like much, but it would take an Olympic swimmer to change the trajectory. And that’s what we are: we’re swimming at 10 mph. So, even with rising inflation, unfavorable interest rates, poor taxes, and crippling debt — despite the theory of interconnectedness — you can’t stop us. It doesn’t matter to us who’s President. All the work we’re doing in this election is for our fellow citizens because we’re altruistic (accompanied by an utter lack of humility).
Kidding aside, if you’re fortunate enough to be in this position, you could do two things: 1. Be grateful. 2. Use your platform to advocate for others less fortunate than you, brilliantly summed up by Humble the Poet here.
Rajiv Satyal is a comedian, host, and speaker. He resides in Los Angeles, far from the madding crowd.