What Exactly Is Existential?
By: Peter Osnos
Tags: Democrats, Bloomberg, Trump, Existentialism, Politics

“If something is existential, it has to do with human existence. If you wrestle with big questions involving the meaning of life, you may be having an existential crisis. Existential can also relate to existence in a more concrete way.” — Vocabulary.com

What then is existential in 2020?

Crossing the Mediterranean in a dinghy in search of a different, and hopefully, better life; a stage 4 Cancer diagnosis; combat in a war zone; being a civilian in a warzone, Yemen for example; being a school girl in Afghanistan with the return of the Taliban likely; being a first responder in an uncontrolled fire or major terrorist incident; and so many more.

What are the existential questions of this moment? Let’s consider two:

The climate crisis. This is undeniable and certainly appropriate given all the long-term trends in weather and the shifting land and ice masses; civilization is at risk and the only surefire way to deal with this challenge would be to return to a time before much of what we take for granted existed in the developed world: driving, flying, heating and cooling and for those who can afford it, meat.

The world in a century will not be the world it is now, but absent an all-out nuclear war, there will still be a world.

A note: In the 1950s, schoolchildren were trained to hide under their desks in the event of a nuclear attack — duck and cover, it was called. They were given military style dog tags lest they go unidentified. That threat was replaced in recent years by active shooter drills as early as primary schools.

Which brings me to the second question. Are the presidential and congressional elections in 2020 existential?

Here is why they may well be: Donald John Trump (his perp name in the impeachment trial) has breached, violated and trashed all the norms of American political and social life. As has been said to the point of numbness, he is a vulgar misogynist and ruthless narcissist. I agree with those who say he may not personally be a racist and anti-Semitic. That would require fixed views which Trump does not have on any meaningful issue, except his absolute belief that in 50 years of adulthood, he can get away with whatever happens to him in business, marriage and in the past five years, politics.

One can concede he may not be all that he seems to be when it comes to white nationalism and autocracy, but his impact seems to elevate those who are. To a startling extent he has normalized what a cohort of men (I can’t speak for women) say in locker rooms, bars, whorehouses and wherever dirty deals are done.

He is also, alas, a form of sinister savant, maybe, as he claims a genius, although certainly not stable. He has turned the Republican Party into a pathetic remnant of itself. If such a thing was possible, Abe Lincoln would be twirling in his grave. He belittles everyone except his nearest blood relations. His personal lawyer, his campaign manager and one of his best friends are begging to be pardoned for what they have done, criminally, in his thrall.

So, is this an existential year? Having been cognizant of every election since Eisenhower-Stevenson in 1956, I think that it is.

It is certainly not a presidential election to be evaluated in traditional terms. For the moment it still seems possible that the Democratic nomination will come down to two Jewish, white men in their late 70s: one a mogul, the other a socialist. There is virtually no likelihood that the veep candidate will not be a female, a person of color or gay, the latter two an historical first. In his first debate, Bloomberg was, at best, as his campaign acknowledged, “rusty.” At almost the life expectancy for males Sanders believes his health doesn’t matter. Elizabeth Warren sure can land a punch. Op-research was the real winner of the night.

Perhaps the most telling statistic of all is that if the numbers are correct close to 50 percent of eligible voters did not cast ballots in 2016. If we really are committed to what is thought of as The American Way, we now have to rally this year to meet an existential crisis.

I concur with those who say that turnout is the biggest issue in this contest. There are conventional presidential candidates among the Democrats, but don’t forget the weirdness of Sanders against Bloomberg, who can literally buy the outcome, as he did three times as mayor of New York. Someone has already wisely asked, is it better to pay for the votes yourself than selling yourself to donors, small and large?

Mike Bloomberg has demonstrated personal flaws, as we are being reminded by his opponents. Yes, he is shorter than Trump, and a bit older, but based on his record he is as tough as he is ambitious without so far as we know being corrupt.

Democrats would do well to avoid (cliché coming) the circular-firing squad and recognize the reality of 2020. Donald John Trump is a figure unlike anyone we have encountered in an age any of us can remember in American political life, perhaps ever. And something has to be done about that — or else.