Let the Silly Season Begin

Silly Season in Full-Swing

So it seems that election silly season is in full swing.  I can’t even behave like a smug Canadian this go around because our own election kicked into gear a full six weeks early (not that I am allowed to vote, but more on that another time).  The irony of all this is that for better or worse many Canadians follow American politics very closely.  We don’t always understand how things work, but we sure have an opinion.

This was brought home to me when my eldest son, Canadian born, I must add, came home from camp in Ontario aghast at how focused his cabin-mates were on the Donald Trump phenomenon.  “They are way more interested in this than I am”, he said.  Admittedly, I wouldn’t mind him paying a bit more attention, but frankly I think that unlike his mother, he is developing a healthy filter on when to start paying attention.

It’s all about the “Others”

This go around, however, I am glad that I am paying attention, for I think there is the potential for some fascinating match-ups.  Like most sane people I know I really do hope and believe that Donald Trump will disappear before primary season starts in earnest.  My worry is that he is making so much money with all this free publicity that he will stick around way too long.

Yet, it seems that if nothing else, Trump is shaking up the race in unexpected ways.  What was supposed to be a relative cakewalk for Jeb Bush has become all about the “others”.  It is within these others that things are getting interesting.

A Level Playing Field

I am particularly intrigued by the possibility of a Carly/Hillary matchup, and not for the same reasons as most pundits.  The New York Times opinion pages is debating whether or not Carly Fiorina is a Feminist.  Did she pave the way for women or is she putting up roadblocks to their well-being?  While this debate raises a number of interesting questions, I think it misses a key point.  A Carly/Hillary contest would be exciting because it might just usher in a post-feminist era.

In a funny way I believe two women vying to be commander in chief would do more to level the playing field than anything else.  How refreshing would be be to hear women debating Planned Parenthood instead of men?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to listen to each woman put forward her policy platform and evaluate them issue by issue.  Sure, the media (and all of us) would still focus on clothes and hair, but let’s face it, that is just part of being a woman.

As the millennial generation truly comes of age and social norms are increasingly questioned and challenged, why not up-end traditional gender roles by taking “gender” out of the equation.  This year’s silly season just may turn out to be one of the smartest in a long time…..