Who Should You Vote For?

A thought experiment, not a lecture

This post works better as audio, if you have the time and inclination. Normally audio is paywalled but because I think it's important, I'm making it free.

Less than two weeks.

Like everyone else in the nation you are probably actively drowning in emails, texts, fliers, missives, video ads, pop-ups, family, friends, neighbors, enemies, co-workers, random guys at bars, yard signs, thinkpieces, news stories, newsletters, and a million screaming social media accounts telling you what to do and who to vote for.

I'm not going to tell you what to do or who to vote for. All I have is a thought experiment and an explanation. It won't take long. There are no nasty surprises. I'm not gonna make you imagine something nice and then tear it all down, I promise. Just….go with me here. It works better as audio, but if that’s not in the cards, just scroll down slow and imagine every step

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Imagine you're wherever you're going to be on election night

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You're watching the results come in. It's not clear who won yet

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Suddenly you are extremely tired. It's pretty late and who knows, it could be days before you know.

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So you travel to wherever you're gonna be staying and you climb into bed

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Wow, it feels really good. Fresh sheets, soft blanket: whatever your ideal sleeping situation is. You feel yourself sinking down…down…

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You're having the kind of dream where you know it's a dream

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You're having a picnic outside. The weather is beautiful. All your favorite food is on a big checkered tablecloth. In this dream you don't have allergies or anything, and the weather is perfect

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You see a bunch of people walking towards you

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It's all your friends. All your family, chosen or biological. All your favorite people.

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People you haven't seen in years. People who have passed. Everyone is really happy to see you, and you feel that warm glow in your chest as they say hi and sit down

You can take a second to imagine who's there, if you want

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The sun feels so good on your skin as you all start eating and talking and everyone is having an amazing time.

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Eventually, the sun starts to sink low, and people start getting up. It's time to go home. And of course it's always sad when people have to leave, but you have that rare feeling of total contentment. This was a perfect day. It feels good to be alive.

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You wake up slowly. The sun is streaming through your window. You yawn, and stretch, and reach for your phone.

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A message pops up: WINNER DECLARED IN 2024 PRESIDENIAL ELECTION

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The moment you click on it, you'll see a name. It's gonna be Harris or Trump.

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What do you hope it says?

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Vote for that person.

It really is that simple.

Sometimes, we think about voting the way we think about buying a T-shirt. You can use your vote to purchase Harris or Trump or Stein or whoever the libertarian candidate is, write someone in, whatever, and then it’ll be part of your wardrobe and, therefore, your identity — or at least, until the next time you're at the candidate store. Or, you can buy neither so no one ever comes up to you and says “eew, you picked THAT one? Why do you support [thing the candidate did or says or believes]?!

But it's so much simpler than that. It's a choice between two potential outcomes: that's it. You aren't pledging loyalty. You aren't going on TV and giving your endorsement. You aren't morally responsible for anything they do. You're just choosing which of two options you prefer for the next four years of your life. If you had to live with one of them in the White House — and you do — who would you choose?

“But I live in a solid Blue/solid Red state, my vote literally doesn't matter” it matters so much this time. Popular vote count doesn't decide the election but it does provide a psychological barrier to election challenges. It's not much. But it's something.

“But I want to vote third party so maybe they reach the 5% threshold and” look, I'm not telling you what to do, go for it if it makes you feel better, but as someone who voted third party until 2016: 1) your candidate probably won't cross that threshold and 2) even if they do, what changes? Be so real for a second: is THIS the election the one where a third party finally starts to turn it all around?

“Kamala Harris doesn't deserve my vote.” Correct, in my opinion. Lots of reasons you could feel that way, we don't have to list them all.

But I don't deserve to live under Trump. Neither do my friends. This isn't about her.

(If you're one of the maybe three people reading this who’s contemplating voting for Trump, swap the names I guess. The test is nonpartisan, even if I'm not, and I'm not handing out lectures today)

In less than two weeks it will either be over or it will have just begun. I'll be in a hotel in some swing district, waiting to see whether I've taken a random vacation or am about to be on the road chasing the action for a while. Who knows what happens next. We’ll all know way too soon

I've been doing a lot of breathing exercises lately. A lot of yoga. Walking around just seeing what's there and taking it in and connecting to the physical world and reminding my amygdala that no, there isn't a tiger on my phone or in my computer. I'm safe right now, which is the best any of us can hope for ever, really, and the world exists and I exist in the world right now and isn't that rad? Isn't that cool? There's something very special about the time at the end of something. Those last moments of sunset.

Two years ago I would have rolled my eyes so hard at that yoga/mindfulness/breathing stuff. In the words of Frank Sinatra, though: “Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.”

Two more weeks. End of an era. Let's go.