And now we wait— again— while the fissure beneath us feels like it widens just a little bit more.
The first presidential debate, as of Friday morning, has been in the U.S. political archives for slightly more than three days. It is reportedly the most watched presidential candidate debate in history, thanks in large part to showman, braggart, developer and Republican nominee Trump.
Ardent Trump supporters contend their man won the encounter hands down, while Clinton acolytes counter that she behaved presidentially and demonstrated command of the issues that will face the next leader of the United States.
Those Republicans and Democrats who did not support either candidate as their nominee nevertheless pledge to support the party’s candidate because the other is too dangerous to elect.
And so we wait until the November election to find out who wins, us or them.
The next day police in El Cajon shot a man who they say acted in an aggressive manner when he suddenly removed his hands from his pants pockets and assumed a shooting stance while pointing an object at them.
The man, Alfred Olango, is black. Police said they received calls of his behaving erratically, and he did not obey their commands. Olango’s sister contends she called police asking for help because he was not behaving like himself. She wanted them to help him, not kill him.
In the hours after Olango’s death protestors gathered and decried the killing of another black man in this country. The object he pointed at police turned out to be a vaporizer, a device commonly used by cigarette smokers.
Critics of the protestors all but said Olango got what he had coming. Had he obeyed police he would still be alive.
Police have video of the encounter but will not release it, though they did distribute a still image that showed Olango in a firing stance.
So while we wait for the entire video to show us what happened, as well as an internal and federal investigations, some people continue to protest the killing and beating of black people by police while others unflinchingly and unquestioningly support law enforcement, dismissing protestors and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement as agitators.
The day after that a 14-year- old South Carolina boy allegedly killed his father before going to a local elementary school and opening fire, injuring two students and one teacher.
The kid was arrested and his attack on his family and the school sparked yet another debate between those who believe stronger gun laws are needed and those who believe the constitutional right to bear arms should not be abridged or even brought up for discussion.
And so the gap between people of different beliefs, ideologies and life experiences widens.
I hope someone among us is looking for a bridge.
