Last week, when people were marveling at the long lines at polling stations, and taking comfort from them (large numbers of Americans politically involved), I remembered an article I read many years ago in a British magazine. The author argued that the habitually lackluster turnout in American elections, rather than a disgrace, was a sign of the nation’s health. It is in corrupt, disastrously mismanaged countries, he noted, where the population (if allowed) flocks to the polls out of desperation.
And I thought: We’ve become one of those countries.
Today I think, even more sadly: We’re that unique country that comes out in droves for corruption and mismanagement.
