Elections ain't what they used to be

They actually used to be worse.  Dirtier, more dishonest, more corrupt.  Here's a list.

What can we take away from this?  That American democracy is horribly fucked up?  I prefer to see the ballot box as half full.  Elections are now cleaner and more honest than they have been in the past, as hard as that is to fathom.  That means we're actually heading in the right direction.

You can also tell we're heading in the right direction by looking around you.  Sure this country has problems, but it's a lot better off than it was 100 or 200 years ago.  We're a lot better off than we were 100 or 200 years ago.  Think about almost any aspect of everyday life--medicine, education, standards of living, consumer protection, legal protection, technological progress . . . We're still the leader of the free world and that still means something.  There's still a lot to be proud of.

What can I say?  I have hope.