Michael, you are exactly right when you say, “In my experience, the winning party in an American election over-reaches and underperforms, while reports of the losing party’s demise are greatly exaggerated.” The history of American politics in my lifetime is like a compressor pedal. Stick with me. As you probably know, a compressor pedal sits between the guitar and the amp and when it’s on, it makes the loud parts not so loud and the quiet parts not so quiet. Things even out. I couldn’t tell you what functions as the compressor pedal in our political system, but I’m pretty confident there is one, and I’m hoping it’s still plugged in.
Thanks T.D.! I'll take a stab at what functions as the compressor pedal. First and foremost, we have local and state governments. The typical American has far more contact with state and local than they do federal; or put another way, the closer the government is to you, the bigger its impact.
We also compress, or maybe fragment, power across state and federal systems, where we have three branches. I know folks get upset about the Supreme Court -- I get upset about the Supreme Court -- but that's not where the most ball games are played, i.e., trial courts and intermediate appellate courts will decide far more cases than the Supreme Court decides. Quick aside to illustrate the point: I knew an appellate judge who reversed the same trial court judge quite often. But the two judges had a friendly relationship. At some point the appellate judge said, "I'm surprised you're always so friendly, because I often reverse your rulings." The trial judge smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, I reverse your rulings every single day." One judge has the power to say what the law means broadly, but the other has the power to carry it out. So you tell me who has the power. Answer: both. Point being, we often think about power as hierarchies in the U.S., but power is actually a lot more fragmented. Or compressed! I do love that analogy. And everything I've mentioned here is just part of government power. There are also administrative agencies -- local, state, and federal.
There's also A LOT of power in the private sector. For all the bitching about free speech online, the truth is that the platform's terms of service have a lot more power than the 1st amendment. I could go on. But you get my point. America is really big & really powerful and that power is incredibly decentralized. We all learn this in school, but the way we talk about elections, you'd think the oval office was the only office in the land.
Thank you so much for this, Michael. This is exactly the kind of take I’ve been searching for and feeling in my bones. Love what you wrote about grieving— I am right there with you.
My grieving process currently involves eating an appalling amount of cereal and binging the extended edition of LOTR.
I get that. I really do. But I'm going to challenge you just a little, since I know a bit about your story from your writing and your interview on Meg's podcast. I think you were always resilient as fuck.
Thank you for this. A much-needed reminder and kick in the butt. My current job search is definitely testing my resilience, but this isn't the first time (or the last). Gotta make one donut at a time, even if it's just a donut hole (my favorite), to progress!
That's a good perspective. Not just for it's fact value (people can eat twice the psychic damage they assume, it's just sad it gets tested) but as an internalized principle. I'll never say no to a good magic feather bonus, and resilience is on the short list of traits bolstered by belief.
Sending love to all of you in the US right now. The political pendulum swings ever left and right. The world keeps turning. We breathe in and breathe out and do what we can do.
I’m resilient. The people who look like me will go on doing so because we don’t have a choice- donuts have to be made; whether we like it or not. It’s just what we do.
Lots of reasons for the results, but a major one is The Washington Post, and the story they didn’t report. It was The Big Miss. If interested, see my latest post.
Viva la Resilience!
I couldn’t face reading this until now. You actually gave me hope.
Thank you
Thank you for sharing that with me, Luanne! I really appreciate that.
Michael, you are exactly right when you say, “In my experience, the winning party in an American election over-reaches and underperforms, while reports of the losing party’s demise are greatly exaggerated.” The history of American politics in my lifetime is like a compressor pedal. Stick with me. As you probably know, a compressor pedal sits between the guitar and the amp and when it’s on, it makes the loud parts not so loud and the quiet parts not so quiet. Things even out. I couldn’t tell you what functions as the compressor pedal in our political system, but I’m pretty confident there is one, and I’m hoping it’s still plugged in.
Amen!
Thanks T.D.! I'll take a stab at what functions as the compressor pedal. First and foremost, we have local and state governments. The typical American has far more contact with state and local than they do federal; or put another way, the closer the government is to you, the bigger its impact.
We also compress, or maybe fragment, power across state and federal systems, where we have three branches. I know folks get upset about the Supreme Court -- I get upset about the Supreme Court -- but that's not where the most ball games are played, i.e., trial courts and intermediate appellate courts will decide far more cases than the Supreme Court decides. Quick aside to illustrate the point: I knew an appellate judge who reversed the same trial court judge quite often. But the two judges had a friendly relationship. At some point the appellate judge said, "I'm surprised you're always so friendly, because I often reverse your rulings." The trial judge smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, I reverse your rulings every single day." One judge has the power to say what the law means broadly, but the other has the power to carry it out. So you tell me who has the power. Answer: both. Point being, we often think about power as hierarchies in the U.S., but power is actually a lot more fragmented. Or compressed! I do love that analogy. And everything I've mentioned here is just part of government power. There are also administrative agencies -- local, state, and federal.
There's also A LOT of power in the private sector. For all the bitching about free speech online, the truth is that the platform's terms of service have a lot more power than the 1st amendment. I could go on. But you get my point. America is really big & really powerful and that power is incredibly decentralized. We all learn this in school, but the way we talk about elections, you'd think the oval office was the only office in the land.
Well said, Michael. To our collective resilience.
Thanks Holly!
This was a much needed column. Thanks.
You’re welcome
Thank you so much for this, Michael. This is exactly the kind of take I’ve been searching for and feeling in my bones. Love what you wrote about grieving— I am right there with you.
My grieving process currently involves eating an appalling amount of cereal and binging the extended edition of LOTR.
Soon I shall be reborn as a very bloated phoenix.
Your process sounds healing. Currently doing something similar with cheese and Mayans, which is a spin-off of Sons of Anarchy
Oct 7 is what changed me and made me resilient.
Other than that, I’ve been eating burritos starting at one end. There’s a reason why we have the term, Messy middle.
I get that. I really do. But I'm going to challenge you just a little, since I know a bit about your story from your writing and your interview on Meg's podcast. I think you were always resilient as fuck.
Haha. Thx so much. I’ve definitely been struggling with comedy since Oct 2023.
Thank you for this. A much-needed reminder and kick in the butt. My current job search is definitely testing my resilience, but this isn't the first time (or the last). Gotta make one donut at a time, even if it's just a donut hole (my favorite), to progress!
I see a high-paying donut-making job in your future.
I tried twice to donate $10 to the burrito fund, but PayPal hates my bank account apparently. Do you have Venmo or Zelle?
There’s so much grace in the mundane. Thank you for this reminder 🙏.
That's a good perspective. Not just for it's fact value (people can eat twice the psychic damage they assume, it's just sad it gets tested) but as an internalized principle. I'll never say no to a good magic feather bonus, and resilience is on the short list of traits bolstered by belief.
Yes, I am resilient. Proof is that I finished this article. It was actually not half bad and very provocative. Thanks.
Sending love to all of you in the US right now. The political pendulum swings ever left and right. The world keeps turning. We breathe in and breathe out and do what we can do.
Thank you! Regarding the breathing, yes. Absolutely, yes.
I’m resilient. The people who look like me will go on doing so because we don’t have a choice- donuts have to be made; whether we like it or not. It’s just what we do.
Well said, Marc. Also, you make really good donuts.
Lots of reasons for the results, but a major one is The Washington Post, and the story they didn’t report. It was The Big Miss. If interested, see my latest post.
If ever we needed a pic of Mortimer...
I wanted to just deadpan that and leave the comment alone, but this is good:
"I won’t waste words on people who think shit tastes like chicken."
That's very good advice.
Thank you Andrew. I screwed up on the Mortimer pic. I'll try to make that right.