A psychiatrist examining what’s happened to America’s soul chooses for his book cover the iconic image from “Planet of the Apes” – a charred, half-buried wreck of the Statue of Liberty.
A minister who believes America is God’s chosen nation decides that a Joe Biden victory would mean doom, a crushing of the nation’s essence.
And a filmmaker whose work has celebrated the raucous mess of American politics concludes that the re-election of President Donald Trump would be “the end of democracy.”
One week before Americans choose their path forward, the quadrennial crossroads reeks of despair. In almost every generation, politicians pose certain elections as the most important of their time. But the 2020 vote takes place with the country in a historically dark mood – low on hope, running on spiritual empty, convinced that the wrong outcome will bring disaster.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant who has been convening focus groups of undecided voters for seven presidential cycles. “Even the most balanced, mainstream people are talking about this election in language that is more caffeinated and cataclysmic than anything I’ve ever heard.
“If you are a believer in climate change, re-electing Trump is literally the end of the world. If taxes are your issue, you think a Biden victory will bankrupt you. If your top concern is health care, you think a Biden loss will kill you.”