The 2024 presidential election cycle has been trapped in the throes of chaos. From President Joe Biden’s debate debacle to the assassination attempt on the former president, Donald Trump, the narrative of this election cycle reads like a sensational airport novel, except it is not so easy to read and it seems prepared to elude any predictive index. On Sunday, July 21 at 1:46 p.m., Biden made a stunning announcement.
“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
Dr. James Peterson
As the list of those calling for the president to step down grew by the hour, some of the most progressive elected democrats continued to back the president. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that there would be “enormous peril” if those who were pressuring the president to stand down were successful in their efforts. It is worth it to hear her in her own words on these issues. In her remarks, Ocasio-Cortez chastised her colleagues for not identifying themselves on the record with their reservations and recommendations. They answered this charge.
Fewer people were offering concrete pathways for what would happen when Biden heeded the warnings of these officials in the Democratic party. Over the course of the last few weeks, we witnessed a level of intra-party, political chaos that was – in and of itself – more detrimental than the president’s debate performance. The steady drumbeat for Biden to drop out became more and more chaotic. We are mere weeks away from the Democratic convention and months away from the election.
The term "chaos" is derived from the Greek word "χάος" (chaos). Its original meaning is “void” or a vast “chasm” It was used to describe the pre-structural form of the universe. In the Epic poem, “Theogony,” Chaos is the first primordial deity, a symbol of the abyss from which the cosmos and the first mythological gods emerged. The term’s English etymology dates back to the late 14th century when it was consistent with its original meaning as a formless or unordered state.
These days, "chaos" is defined as a state of complete disorder and confusion, but in this chaotic moment, the term also retains some of its early etymology. Our state is unordered. And the future of our nation felt formless in the face of the presidential options that were before us – before Sunday. Now, Vice-President Harris is poised to assume the mantle of the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. The energy around this seismic shift in the political terrain has been electric and yes, a bit chaotic. There has been a frenzy of fundraising to match this energy.
