"The Political Appeal of the Aggressively Normal Dad" - that's the headline on a "Critic's Notebook" column by Amanda Hess, who writes on "Internet culture." The column appeared in the August 12, 2024, edition of The New York Times, and I only wish I could have presented you with the picture that accompanied that column, as I read the column in the hard copy edition of the newspaper.
Somehow, the picture that immediately drew my attention to the article, when I opened up The Times on that Monday in August, just doesn't show up on the Internet. I am using a substitute photo, in which Walz is similing almost as broadly as he was smiling in that photo I couldn't find online. The photo I was hoping to show you depicted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz surrounded by smiling kids, hugging him after Walz signed a bill providing free school meals for all students in public schools in Minnesota.
What is arguably the most important election of our lifetime is only three days away, and while Hess tells us in her column that "Walz and his online fans have elevated Midwestern vibes into nostalgic art," I'm thinking that "nostalgic" is not quite the right word.
"Nostalgia" is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to some past period or irrecoverable condition." That is not the way I am feeling about the Harris-Walz ticket, and my chance to vote on Tuesday.
Harris and Walz are not making me "wistful" for the past.
They are making me hopeful for the future!
That's what that picture of those kids, embracing Walz - the picture I couldn't find online - makes me feel, too:
HOPEFUL FOR THE FUTURE
"Fear" about the future and "Hope" for the future are both motivating. As I say, I do favor "Hope," but whichever of those sentiments might motivate you....
Please don't forget to vote on Tuesday!
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