[B] Repeats: OPINION: Waiting Out Election In MTV Age...Unbearable
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THE BRIDGE FORUM: A periodic look at
issues in the US presidential race.
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* If Ever There Were A Case Of Delayed Gratification, This Election
Is It
By Joan Silverman, observer-at-large
BridgeNews
BOSTON--In colonial times, did Americans whine about the original
George W. and Al--that is, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton--as
they hammered out the blueprint for our Constitution?
Did they say, for instance, "Al, enough already with the revisions!
Let's go to press"? Or did they beg George to lighten up and stop being so
snippy?
Of course, communications were infinitely slower in those dinosaur
days of our nation's history. The Pony Express had yet to be invented, and
even then, its riders traveled only between Missouri and California.
Back then, that half-country trek to deliver the mail took eight days
by horse. Yet here we are today, whining when election results aren't
neatly delivered by bedtime, the same day.
Perhaps it's our national short attention span, or sense of
entitlement or just the collective impatience of a public placed on hold.
But it smacks of the same indulgence that fostered the ad slogan, "I Want
My MTV." Americans want their election results, and we want them now.
Election Day 2000 came and went, and the American public, with its
instant access to everything, was forced to wait. There were no quick
answers that held up to scrutiny--just a jumble of conflicting facts,
retractions and withdrawals.
If ever there were a case of delayed gratification, this election was
surely it. What further proof could we need that the Clinton era is
actually ending?
The business of waiting and not knowing is the stuff of drama and
intrigue, on the one hand, and of growing up, on the other. "Are we there
yet?" is the proverbial cry of every child in the back seat of every car,
just waiting to arrive.
That's a variation of the cry heard throughout the country today.
"It's almost like a death in the family, with no closure," said a man,
commenting on the election, to CBS News.
In the same report, a young woman suggested the Florida recount might
best be hastened by hiring temp workers. All of this to appease our
national displeasure with waiting.
Trouble is, fully half of the nation will be displeased when the wait
is over. The other half may feel less victorious than simply relieved.
At present, there's no law that mandates reporting of election results
by the bedtime of the curious. Election laws are more reasoned and
orderly, less convenient, than that.
And when our much vaunted technology fails to produce reliable
results, we're relegated to old time-tested ways. How basic and primitive
this electoral limbo has become, with actual humans counting ballots by
hand. Even the original George W. and Al could appreciate this process.
Our culture has been blinded by its technology and the assumption that
there must be a fast-forward route to all destinations. If anything, this
election proves there are layers of complexity that sometimes elude our
ability to measure things quickly and accurately. If fast is good,
accurate is even better--and that often means waiting. End
THE AUTHOR'S views are not necessarily those of BridgeNews, whose
ventures include the Internet site www.bridge.com.
OPINION ARTICLES and letters to the editor are welcome. Send
submissions to Sally Heinemann, editorial director, BridgeNews, 3 World
Financial Center, 200 Vesey St., 28th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10281-1009.
You may also call (212) 372-7510, fax (212) 372-2707 or send e-mail to
opinion@bridge.com.
EDITORS: A color photo of the author is available from KRT Photo
Service.
[Begin Bridgelinks]
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[SLUG: US-ELECTION-DELAYED-GRATIFICATION:BN _ op-ed]
[End BridgeLinks]
Nov-14-2000 17:38 GMT
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