Return to normalcy, a return to the way of life before World War I, was the Republican Party presidential candidate Warren G. Harding’s campaign slogan for the election of 1920. During the campaign, Harding addressed the issue of the word’s origin, claiming that “normalcy” but not “normality” appeared in his dictionary.
After the two major parties in the country have wrapped up their respective conventions, it is time to set the path forward with eyes set on what this year’s presidential election on Tuesday, November 3, means for our nation.
America will have one opportunity to restore normalcy and democracy.
On one hand, the incumbent president–Donald J Trump– has no platform, no agenda for his reelection, but a vision that excludes the majority of the nation.
Besides Trump’s norm-breaking speech at the Republican National Convention, the week was a testament to the campaign Trump wishes he could run: Be afraid, be very afraid.
His convention made clear that his appeal is to those who supported him before, with scant evidence of reaching beyond that base.
In his 2016 convention address, Trump declared “I alone can fix it.” Four years later, after voters gave him a chance to prove it, Trump is now dealing — or his opponents would say not dealing — with multiple crises.
The “carnage” that he promised to stop is worse than ever on his watch.
The “swamp” that he promised to get rid of has only expanded to become a lake of lawless cronies breaking all possible federal guidelines and ethical norms.
Today’s GOP is nothing more than Donald Trump’s Party with no platform for the next four years but the President’s America-first agenda, and now includes voices that even support the QAnon conspiracy theory with racist, anti-Semitic, and Islamophobic views, which centers on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q” who shares information about an anti-Trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.
On the other hand, former Vice President Joe Biden has run a campaign to “save the soul of America” from the state of disorder in which it is due to Trump’s disregard of the law, norms, and decency.
Biden’s nominating convention last week was filled with evidence validating his approach: that fierce opposition to Trump can unite a wide swath of the American electorate around an imperfect, yet personally respected and empathetic candidate.
His political philosophy can at times feel like an antiquated throwback to an era that no longer exists and the political environment that awaits him in Washington if he wins in November is grisly. But Biden is in direct contrast with Trump, who appears to view not only politicians but most Americans in black and white terms: those who support him unequivocally and those who do not.
The Biden & Harris ticket is what America needs at the crossroad in which it is now.
We should not continue to support a president who lies, a president that deceives and distracts, a president that denies and defies reality.
Unfortunately, a part of the nation stands partisan. Republicans who are comfortable with Biden as an electoral alternative to the incumbent president may nevertheless be less inclined to vote for his economic and domestic policy agenda.
But that partisanship will not bring us back to normalcy nor help us restore democracy and the values for which the world once admired us.
Donald Trump wants us to be very afraid if Biden wins. Don’t be afraid. What we have seen on Trump’s watch is what we have to be very afraid of.
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Our editorials present our news outlet’s opinion on certain issues. They provide analysis of the news for a deeper understanding of current events. Today’s editorial is also an endorsement of the values and agenda of Presidential Candidate Joe Biden.
Remember, first read, then decide.
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Biden & Harris: The ticket to restore normalcy and democracy
