Day 012: I Didn’t Watch The Debate

I was asked the question all day. Any regular customer that regards me as a sane, well-read person asked me if I was planning to watch the debate. I never answered their question. Instead, I responded with another question: “Why SHOULD I watch the debate?”. I think it’s a legitimate question. Why would I want to watch people bicker on National TV? Is it supposed to make me feel good? More educated? Enlightened? Gassy? It’s not like the debate is some exclusive event that nobody is going to talk about afterwards. I’m not gonna overhear a conversation at work, inquire about it and have the person say, “Oh, you didn’t watch it? You just had to be there. But I think Douggie taped it. Go talk to him”. Whether I like it or not, the highlights of the debate are going to be infiltrating my eyelids ad nauseam.

The point of a debate is to sway the public opinion. Do you think they touched the hearts and minds of the American people? Probably not. Our minds have been made up for years. Instead of debating, we just need to do our proverbial Show Of Hands and get it over with. I can say with great confidence that nobody was swayed into voting for the other. One side just needs to look at how the past 4 years have gone to form their opinion. The other side is doubling down on idiocy, racism and false promises. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be nicer about that, but it’s true. Some friends and family members that I love very much are doubling down. It makes no sense, it makes me want to scream, but there’s nothing that I’m going to say that’s going to change their minds. After all the missteps, scandals, pandemics, potential wars, economic depressions, social unrest and spilled water glasses, there’s absolutely NOTHING that can be said or done that’s going to change their mind.

So why should I watch the debate? Out of 10-15 tries only one person was able to give me a straight answer.

“You’re from Michigan, right? Why does your uncle watch NASCAR?”

“Touché”

Suddenly, it made a lot more sense. People don’t need to be swayed, they just want to see a car wreck. As if 2020 wasn’t disaster porn enough, we still have more blood lust. If I wanted to see a burning wreckage, I would just browse Twitter. If I wanted to see inconsolable people yell, I’d watch Vanderpump Rules. And most importantly, if I wanted to unwind after a day of work, I’d play Animal Crossing.

And that’s what I did. There was a nurse on the train watching the debate on her phone. She looked really stressed out. I was playing Animal Crossing with my headphones on. I was not stressed out. We both know who we’re voting for. So why go through the pain?

– TeeCoZee