The performative aspect of these races you point out is a huge part of what makes it nearly impossible for anyone with “real integrity” to float through, structurally uncompromised by the whole insane and way-too-long campaign process. So many rigid and irrational expectations thrust on them from all sides to be “on” at all times proves more often than not to be destabilizing. The electorate’s pathetic dependence on office holders to be superhuman, literally to save us, remaining oblivious to the fact that we relinquish all our power over to them in the process, all so that we can continue not lifting a finger, is... just... so annoying. It’s like, vote for your hero, who has promised you the world, then use them as a scapegoat when they ultimately can’t pull through on all that was promised throughout their campaign. The fact that people actually still believe “the right” elected officials are the way out of our collective mess is a massively understated problem. That said, is it too much to ask someone as deeply respectable as Cornel West to try to keep his head on straight while walking into the lion’s den of modern elections?
The performative aspect of these races you point out is a huge part of what makes it nearly impossible for anyone with “real integrity” to float through, structurally uncompromised by the whole insane and way-too-long campaign process. So many rigid and irrational expectations thrust on them from all sides to be “on” at all times proves more often than not to be destabilizing. The electorate’s pathetic dependence on office holders to be superhuman, literally to save us, remaining oblivious to the fact that we relinquish all our power over to them in the process, all so that we can continue not lifting a finger, is... just... so annoying. It’s like, vote for your hero, who has promised you the world, then use them as a scapegoat when they ultimately can’t pull through on all that was promised throughout their campaign. The fact that people actually still believe “the right” elected officials are the way out of our collective mess is a massively understated problem. That said, is it too much to ask someone as deeply respectable as Cornel West to try to keep his head on straight while walking into the lion’s den of modern elections?
Well said. Yes, the fact that Cornel has to lean into this age old "game" of campaigning in the way that we do is so demoralizing in a sense.
Campaigning IS simply inhuman. Cornell West is onto something big; I hope the public will soon embrace it. Here's another example of inhuman, esp. once you get into the weeds of it: https://lauramoreno.substack.com/p/but-michelle-obama-really-is-a-woman