By Kenneth L. Hardin

I’m having intense withdrawals. I miss my weekly treks to the movies to take in the 10 a.m. showings and paying for a $6 early bird ticket and another $15 for the hot buttered stale popcorn. All this was before COVID and the spiraling gun violence took over. This withdrawal and longing for the simpler times of my pre-pandemic, bullet-free existence has me singing a line from the  Good Times TV show theme song as I reflect back on all I’ve lost, “Scratchin’ and survivin’ — good times! Hangin’ in a chow line — good times! Ain’t we lucky we got ’em? Good times!”   

With all that’s going on in this country in poli-tricks, I don’t need to sit in a dark theater to satisfy my insatiable appetite for cinematic escape. All I have to do is turn on the news, click on the few websites I visit regularly or scan through social media pages of local candidates to see a thriller, drama, spy-like intrigue or comedic idiocy. I don’t have to wait for Hollyweird to release its summer blockbuster movies because with the current political climate nationally and locally, I have a front row center seat. There’s that song again rearranging the furniture inside my head and running around in that part of the brain we’re only allowed in at Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving cause we don’t want to mess the cognitive carpet up, “…not getting hassled, not getting hustled. Keepin’ your head above water, making a wave when you can!”

The 2020 election was the first time since I turned 18 years old in 1983 I didn’t vote for the president nor local candidates. I was so disillusioned, disheartened and apathetic with the political discourse and the condition of the city, I joined the growing chorus of the “What’s the point” collective. After seeing little to no progress from those who’ve made a career out of putting their names on the ballot, winning seats and yielding little results, my conscious wouldn’t allow me to care much about this process that’s clearly turned into a grift and side hustle for many. I’m not the only member in the “Who Cares” club, I’ve heard from so many like-minded others who are equally weary of the political charade called elections that they too are opting to just stay home and sing, “…any time you’re out from under! Not getting hassled, not getting hustled. Keepin’ your head above water…”

The dismal turnout in the recent county primary election reveals people are tired of the way politics are being run. Out of 97,106 eligible voters only 22,252 cast a vote. That’s less than a quarter of the eligible population. The electorate feels like we don’t have people running who understand the political process nor are committed to progress and improvement. We have people seeking office as some kind of way to elevate themselves to a higher level of relevance and importance. They don’t know what the issues are, what the people need, nor do they care about trying to ease the suffering of the people. Circus clowns are putting their names on ballots seeking office who’ve never participated in the civic process beforehand, are ignorant of the issues, have no plan to address the issues, don’t serve on committees prior to running, nor do they come to meetings to understand how the process works. All we have now are people who are nothing more than social media creations with slick pictures and videos, staged community involvement, photobombs with unaware people of note, and parroting and regurgitating talking points heard on CNN or Fox News Entertainment. They have no platform or way of putting into action their plan. They falsely believe voters want to hear the negative campaigns, digging up past failures of their opponents, and the angry racially divisive pseudo religious rants. Voters care more about their paychecks, their healthcare, their taxes, paying their rent or mortgage, the cost of groceries, jobs, illegal drugs, gun violence, safe schools, better education and veteran benefits more than noxious verbal excrement. If your entire campaign is predicated on calling out the missteps of others instead of explaining details of your plan if elected, then you’re just a joke and a waste of time.

Hopefully, by the general election in November, the tone and messaging will change to one more progressive. If not, I’ve found a way to feed the cinematic dragon I miss and quench my insatiable appetite for the theater, while simultaneously conquering this political demonic monster. I will simply settle down with a bowl of microwave popcorn at election time and forgo anything politically related. Why subscribe to a real life maddening political reality show with poor actors and no script when I can just sit back in my big easy chair and sing, “Ain’t we lucky we got ‘em, good times

Kenneth L. Hardin is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.