Here's Hoping...

 This year of 2023 has been a strange one. Crime is falling, inflation is under control, American troops are not (exactly) in combat zones, and yet we all think that everything is awful. Some of that is ongoing tragedy in Gaza, which has done strange things to the minds of young people whose interest in both international affairs and military tactics is not exactly robust. 

Gaza was going to be an awful situation as soon as Hamas attacked. While much of the responsibility falls equally on Hamas and the Netanyahu government, Egypt's refusal to let refugees enter Sinai has made a horrific situation worse. For all of this, Biden gets the blame because of "vibes" and because only America has any agency in international affairs or something. The number of young people saying they won't vote for Biden because Netanyahu is a monster is distressing, but then again, they didn't live through Ralph Nader and Florida 2000.

Like Josh Marshall, I find myself weirdly optimistic about 2024. There's no real reason to feel optimistic. Trump should be at 27% in polls, but his neck and neck with Biden. Talibangelicals have seized control of so many state governments that odds are a woman will die needing an abortion before too long. As Yeats said, "The blood dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned;/The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity." How can I feel optimistic?

Part of it is that the reason democracy is better than every other form of government tried from time to time is that democracies tend to be self-correcting. I also agree with Schlesinger's idea that history works in cycles. The radicalization of the GOP has been apparent to those willing to see it since 1994, but Trump made it apparent to even "savvy" observers. 

So, here's to hoping I'm right. That a year from now, we will see Trump in prison and boring old normie Joe Biden getting ready for a second term. That the Talibangelicals will cause a seismic shift in voting. That we continue to make slow and steady progress on climate change. Here's to hope...