A night of waiting and expectation for history to unfold
In just a few hours, the polls open for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The feelings I have are surely shared by other people, including those on the opposite political side as myself. These feelings reflect the mounting tension that has been building up for months and months.
With each new story in the election season, a new drop has fallen into the bucket of anxiety. This year, the drops have been falling faster than ever before, so much that it at times seems like a steady stream of tension is pouring in. From the Republican primaries to Biden’s debate disaster, to multiple assassination attempts on Trump to Kamala’s rise, to vice presidential picks and endorsements along the way, this election cycle has been one unlike any other. We can cut the tension like a knife. It’s the feeling you might get if you knew you had a big performance to give the next day, and you only had one shot at it. Get it right and you bask in intense glory, but get it wrong and it’s an internal pain that you know you will have to shoulder for a very long time. Now spread this feeling across America so that collective anxiety hangs like a cloud from coast to coast, and this is where we’re at.
And with that said, I am actually cautiously optimistic. Depending on whom you listen to, the race is either a dead heat, or Trump is positioned just well enough in enough states to be able to take it. I am in this latter camp, as it seems his support in key battleground states will be enough to win it for him. Also, about half of all votes that will be cast in this election have already been cast, and Trump has enjoyed momentum, and a consistent polling lead, over the past few weeks. I have to think that this prolonged support has certainly helped him.
Yet, I merely need to think back to the disappointment of four years ago to remember that things aren’t how they seem. I was one of those people who was holding on to dear hope as I saw Trump leading in places like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, only to find out later that votes for Biden mysteriously materialized at odd hours.
So in less than 24 hours, we shall see where the election ends up – in glory or in defeat. The collective joy or pain will be an intense, shared act of catharsis. I just hope and pray that I will be among those rejoicing.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39
