This Is A Spiritual Journey For Me

A Difficult Choice, Vibes, What Do You Stand For?, Up For Interpretation, Coconuts

Trigger Warning: If you’re easily triggered, especially by orange men in politics, you may prefer to stop reading now.

I.

A Difficult Choice

I began feeling the way I imagine an actor or athlete must feel when, after years of commitment to a particular dream, after years of waiting tables between auditions or scratching out hits in the minor leagues, he realizes that he’s gone just about as far as talent or fortune will take him. The dream will not happen, and he now faces the choice of accepting this fact like a grownup and moving on to more sensible pursuits, or refusing the truth and ending up bitter, quarrelsome, and slightly pathetic.

Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2006)

On August 23rd, the day after Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. acknowledged that he had no realistic chance of winning the US presidency, officially suspended his campaign, and endorsed Donald Trump in a nationwide address. Rather than harboring bitterness, he did the grownup thing to do and made a decision.

In his speech, Kennedy said, “This is a spiritual journey for me. I reached my decision through deep prayer, through hardnosed logic, and I asked myself, ‘What choices must I make to maximize my chances to save America’s children and restore national health?’ I felt that if I refused this opportunity, I would not be able to look myself in the mirror, knowing that I could have saved lives of countless children and reverse this country’s chronic disease epidemic.”

Kennedy continues, “President Trump has told me that he wants this to be his legacy. I’m choosing to believe that this time he will follow through. His son, his biggest donors, his closest friends all support this [health] objective. My joining the Trump campaign will be a difficult sacrifice for my wife and children, but worthwhile if there’s even a small chance of saving these kids. Ultimately, the only thing that will save our country and our children is if we choose to love our kids more than we hate each other.”

Earlier today, I came across a meme that said: When a lifelong Democrat, from an iconic Democratic family, who tried to run as a Democrat, and who’s running mate was a Democrat, warns you about the dangers of voting for a Democrat in this election, you should probably listen.

II.

Vibes

The job of an elected official is not to sing a lullaby and soothe the country into a sense of complacency. The job is to speak truth, even in a moment that does not welcome or invite its utterance.

Kamala Harris, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey (2019)

kamala IS brat

This post from British pop singer Charli XCX is reported to be Kamala’s “most culturally powerful endorsement” and is said to have “catapulted Vice President Kamala Harris’s nascent campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination into rarified air, potentially sending thousands of fans and voters her way.”

But what exactly is “brat,” and why is Kamala one? For starters, brat is the title of Charli XCX’s latest pop album. It’s also become the official branding for Kamala HQ, the rapid response page of Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign. As Charli explains on TikTok, being brat means you’re “just that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown, but kind of parties through it.” While according to one DNC goer, to be brat is to be “like a party girl and go out really late at night and fall asleep with all your makeup on.” Conversely, The Free Press defines brat as “a living embodiment of feminism as imagined by Gen Z.”

Ladies and Gentlemen and Everyone In-Between and Nonconforming, this is what some Zoomers look for in a US President these days—someone who feels herself, sometimes says dumb things, might have a breakdown, but parties through it anyway. (And ideally has a viral video or two to prove it.)

I don’t get it. “brat for President?” Am I out of touch? While Charli XCX’s “brat” album isn’t exactly a lullaby—it’s raunchy rave music—it seems to be lulling many Americans into accepting the idea of electing a president based on her vibes and dance moves rather than her policy positions.

Video source and credit: @ryanlong03

III.  

What Do You Stand For?

You should not run for president because tactically you can win. The questions you have to ask are why you’re running for president and what will you do when you are president. You shouldn’t run until you know the answers to those questions.

Joe Biden, Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics (2007)

The Harris campaign strategy is brilliant. Truly remarkable. I suspect it will be studied by students of political science, business management, journalism, and public administration for years to come. On the All-In Podcast, moderator Jason Calacanis, who describes himself as an “undecided left-leaning moderate,” characterizes Kamala’s approach as “running out the clock,” “not defining your positions too much,” “selling the vibes,” and “pretending to be moderate.” Meanwhile, David Sacks, a Trump supporter, points out that “Kamala Harris refuses to do any interviews, she doesn’t want to do any unscripted appearances, she’s abandoned all of her policy positions that have been long-standing and the reason why she ran for president in the first place in 2020.”

According to The Free Press contributing editor Abigail Shrier, by sidestepping reporters, interviews, and debates, Kamala is strategically “managing her liabilities.” Rather than getting into the nitty-gritty of pressing national issues, Harris posts TikTok videos of herself taking selfies with Walz, horsing around with her “Hot Girl Coach”, and buying pickles for her husband. With the help of a supportive corporate media, Kamala has reinvented herself as just another girl next door. And it’s working. Kamala Harris always looks fabulous, and her campaign is vibin’.

But can you actually win the United States Presidential election based solely on good vibes?

In an article titled “How Long Can Kamala Harris Avoid the Press?” editors at The Free Press wrote, “The vice president thinks that joy can get her to the White House. We have our doubts.” I have my doubts, too.

I’d like to give Kamala a chance, and I will give her a chance, but I first need to know what she stands for and what she plans to do (and not do) if elected Leader of the Free World. So far, her campaign hasn’t published a single policy on their website. In contrast, Trump’s campaign site includes a “platform” tab with twenty core promises and a 16-page document outlining strategies to implement key policies. Unlike Harris, Trump has also sat down for several long-form, unscripted interviews, including with Dr. Phil, TIME Magazine, All-In, Elon Musk, Theo Von, National Association of Black Journalists, and an upcoming interview with Lex Fridman. While Trump will characteristically stray or ramble or say something that’s not PC, you know exactly where the former president stands on issues like war, immigration, trade, and abortion rights.

When asked, “What is important to consider when voting for a presidential candidate?” Claude’s AI-generated response says the top factor to consider is “Policy positions: Understand where the candidate stands on issues that matter to you and the country.” Yet when some of Kamala’s biggest fans at the DNC were asked what their favorite Harris policy position was, they couldn’t name a single one. Instead, they resorted to saying things like, “her as a person tops out any policy” and “her being president [is my favorite policy position].”

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While the Harris campaign has presented some recent positions, a few troubling economic policies stand out, including one combatting price gouging. When asked about the problems that price controls present to agriculture and food markets, David Friedberg—a food and ag expert, longtime Democrat, and currently undecided (and deeply frustrated) voter—remarked, “The free market works in that everyone is always competing with each other, creating new productivity improvements, and as a result, over time, prices come down—except when the government intervenes and gets involved.” He warns, “Every socialist experiment in human history has started with caps on food and it has resulted in bread lines like you can see in the image behind me… This is a mistake. It is a problem. It is anti-American. It is anti-free market. It is anti-innovation. It is anti-productivity. And, ultimately, it is anti-liberty.”

IV.  

Up For Interpretation

You don’t reward failure by promoting those responsible for it, because all you get is more failure.

Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz, Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987)

Feel free to interpret this quote in a way that aligns with your own understanding of what failure means.

V.  

Coconuts

My mother used to, she would give us a hard time sometimes and she would say to us, I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people—you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?

Kamala Harris in a viral video

There’s a slight chance I think I just fell out of a coconut tree.

Send help.

Why am I not as eager to vote Harris-Walz into office as many others seem to be? Why don’t I see what others see? What crucial piece of evidence am I missing? Am I red-pilled? Anti-democracy? Pro-Nazi? Or is it because I can’t fully support a presidential nominee based solely on brat summer vibes and fiery hatred of the opponent?

Perhaps I’m wrong about all this. I want to be wrong about all this. I want to believe that Americans are not just coconut-pilled but are making strategic, discerning decisions for the prosperity and longevity of our nation and people—rooted in hope and optimism for the future rather than fear of the conjectural. If you have substantial evidence proving everything I’ve said thus far is utterly flawed and that I’ve indeed cognitively plummeted from a coconut tree, please share it in the comments. (When I say “substance,” I’m looking for fact-based context and not unsubstantiated fear.)

I realize that what I’m doing in this article—challenging the Harris campaign—is a very unpopular move here on Substack. Among the Top 5 US Politics newsletters on Substack, only one—The Free Press—dares to criticize the Harris campaign and the Democratic party. But when it comes to featuring political news, Substack is overwhelmingly one-sided. On August 25th, three days after Harris accepted the nomination and two days after RFK Jr. addressed the nation, all thirty-five “recommended” US Politics stories on Substack either praised Harris, demonized Trump, or made false claims about Melania Trump, with not a single story highlighting Kennedy’s announcement.¹ And while The Free Press tops Substack’s Politics Leaderboard, not a single one of their twenty-five election stories published in the last six days were recommended by Substack, nor were any of the eleven stories published by Racket News—Substack’s 6th most popular US Politics newsletter.

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In Kamala’s celebrated acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, she said, “My mother had another lesson she used to teach—never let anyone tell you who you are; you show them who you are.”

In this article, I’m showing you who I am: A concerned, contemplative, and profoundly perplexed person. I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys, and I want to understand why people think what they think. I want to understand why I think what I think. That’s why I write.

But sometimes I wonder if I should just stay in my lane and stick to writing about things I’m good at—things like creativity, meaningful work, and happiness. It’s certainly a safer strategy. But then again, I wonder if I’ll regret not speaking up about the things that seem intuitively wrong to me. My hope is that by discussing difficult topics, I’ll gain clarity. Maybe you will, too.

US Politics is not my forte, but given this nerve-racking race and my (hopefully) valid concerns, I’ve been dabbling in it a bit more lately. I understand this decision may ultimately harm my readership, as it already has. If you choose to unsubscribe, I understand. Thank you for reading my work—it’s been a blessing to have you along for the ride. But if, alternatively, you can empathize with some of my concerns, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a comment, share this newsletter, or support it financially.

Whether you’re blue or red or purple or green or rainbow swirl, I urge you to always ask tough questions, consider all viewpoints, follow your gut, and, perhaps most importantly, steer clear of coconut trees.

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PS: Next week’s newsletter may come a bit late as I’ll be at Burning Man celebrating radical inclusion, self-expression, and self-reliance with people from around the country (and world) who share these values, regardless of political stance.

1. A 36th recommended story in the US Politics category had to do with no-kill pet shelters and was unrelated to the presidential race