November 2022
A reflection on Election Day, 2022
08 11, 22 17:19 Filed in: Reflection
Years ago I adopted my wife's description of what I study: Advanced Cynicism and General Despair. It was good for a chuckle, but in recent years it has become a credible description of my "informed" view of most things political.
For three decades I was a co-author of an American government text, and every two years or so we'd have to update and revise the text to keep up with events and maintain our (very) small niche in a competitive market. The revision task was time consuming, and looking back on all the hours put into updates I now realize could have -- and should have -- been better spent working on my other projects. But it was difficult to pass up the chance to refocus our chapters on what had taken place over the previous couple of years.
We finished the 12th edition just after the 2016 election results, and it was clear even then that dealing with a Trumpian presidency was going to prove difficult. Fortunately, our published decided that a 13th edition was not being considered.
In previous years, when faced with such decisions, we would make a case for our work, and even fought hard to get the right to seek another publisher. This time, however, we cried some crocodile tears and quietly let the matter play itself out (the 12th edition is still available!).
There were a number of factors involved in our collective response. Each of us was on the verge of retiring and had other things on our mind. But I think the prospect of having to explain or rationalize American government for a college audience living under the influence of Trump's presidency would require each of us to finally give up the pretense of objectivity that our approach took. The textbook was intentionally written in a way that avoided critical commentary or assessment, and the result was a bland and neutral book that was really not reflective of the co-authors. I know I was relieved when we got the word from the publisher.
I am writing this post about two or three hours before polls close and we begin to get the results of what is likely to be a disaster for the Democrats and, given the current state of American government, a disaster for our political system. And so I must admit that my wife's joking description of what I study is now a description of my mood and attitude about the present and (I regret to say) about the future.
For three decades I was a co-author of an American government text, and every two years or so we'd have to update and revise the text to keep up with events and maintain our (very) small niche in a competitive market. The revision task was time consuming, and looking back on all the hours put into updates I now realize could have -- and should have -- been better spent working on my other projects. But it was difficult to pass up the chance to refocus our chapters on what had taken place over the previous couple of years.
We finished the 12th edition just after the 2016 election results, and it was clear even then that dealing with a Trumpian presidency was going to prove difficult. Fortunately, our published decided that a 13th edition was not being considered.
In previous years, when faced with such decisions, we would make a case for our work, and even fought hard to get the right to seek another publisher. This time, however, we cried some crocodile tears and quietly let the matter play itself out (the 12th edition is still available!).
There were a number of factors involved in our collective response. Each of us was on the verge of retiring and had other things on our mind. But I think the prospect of having to explain or rationalize American government for a college audience living under the influence of Trump's presidency would require each of us to finally give up the pretense of objectivity that our approach took. The textbook was intentionally written in a way that avoided critical commentary or assessment, and the result was a bland and neutral book that was really not reflective of the co-authors. I know I was relieved when we got the word from the publisher.
I am writing this post about two or three hours before polls close and we begin to get the results of what is likely to be a disaster for the Democrats and, given the current state of American government, a disaster for our political system. And so I must admit that my wife's joking description of what I study is now a description of my mood and attitude about the present and (I regret to say) about the future.
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