Everything depends on where you are in the USA; it will sometimes be difficult to perceive the arrival of autumn, as in Texas for example, where at this time of year, the nights are finally cooler, as are the mornings. However, during the day, it will still often be too hot, and a very cold winter only briefly arrives between November and January before making way for the early rebirth of plants, earlier than in other regions. That’s how the seasons go here, but soon we will migrate to a more temperate zone. Meanwhile, the pre-election period here, like in France, shows countries deeply divided, with people who are, in some cases, irreconcilable. The smartest ones migrate, while others tend to stay and endure, which reflects human nature here. Far be it from me to judge, I’m just making an observation.

The very anti-democratic French president no longer hides his extreme right-wing preferences, even inviting them to govern against the will of the majority of the population. This deepens divisions and encourages people, fed up with this failing and corrupt political class, to lean increasingly towards the far right. It’s uncertain if that’s the solution, but they are the loudest voices.

In the USA, at least against the far right represented by Trump, there is a credible, intelligent, dynamic, and smiling candidate who spares no effort to convince and who managed to destabilize Trump during their televised debate. The Republican candidate initially refused to debate Kamala Harris, then half-heartedly agreed, but only if it took place on a Republican channel. The reality is that when you pit intelligence, culture, and empathy on one side against stupidity, arrogance, and vulgarity on the other, it’s unlikely to change much in the end. Today, whether on the Democratic or Republican side, it’s still difficult to say which way the balance will tip, as poll samples tend to be very close to those who always vote for the same candidate—the core base of each party, which is roughly similar. Both sides are left to compete for undecided voters, a large pool of voters that is not always easy to win over, as many of them must be convinced to break away from their prejudices and certainties, which are often shaped by family culture rather than personal reflection.

The art of convincing these undecided voters has no particular rules; sometimes, it’s also a matter of fashion, like Obama’s famous ‘Yes We Can’ slogan, which, beyond various political messages, communicated a simple image that everyone wanted to hear. It’s advertising, pure and simple. But the intelligence of the Democratic candidate at the time lay in understanding a part of the younger generation that spread the message everywhere, almost without realizing it. In a similar, but much cruder way, Trump’s incoherent and rambling speeches are understood by less educated populations, simply because he repeats the same lies over and over. The bigger the lie, the better it sticks. This is also Macron’s method in France, as it is for anyone who disregards democracy. As a result, it’s becoming harder to talk about right or left anymore; in Western societies, there are now those who work against democracy and those who struggle to maintain and uphold it.

Several things in this campaign could indeed hurt President Trump, starting with the anti-abortion laws. One should not believe that all Republicans, men or women, adhere to these ideas—not by a long shot. For some, this may be a reason not to vote or even to vote for the opposing candidate. The same goes for book censorship. It is clear that this way of thinking is viewed by extremist religious people who have a vision of their religion akin to the era of witch hunts, which spanned from 1560 to 1630 in Europe. At that time, cursed books were burned and banned under threat of torture or worse. Women had no other rights than to procreate and obey their husbands, and they had no place in society outside household chores and ‘conjugal duties.’ What the most extreme Republicans, who have hijacked the party, are proposing is the same. The leaders of the Republican party who hold real values are calling in large numbers to vote for Kamala Harris. Let’s hope that this will tip the balance towards the light, rather than towards darkness.

Thierry De Clemensat

Editor in Chief

Bayou Blue Radio/Bayou Blue New