From Coast to Coast: How America Is Prepping for November 5

With mere days left before the nation, and the world find out who the next president of the United States is, it is no mystery that the choice, even at this late stage, is hard to determine. With polling between Donald Trump, the Republican, and Kamala Harris, Democrat, so close that it’s all within the margin of error, it will come down to the final announcement made after November 5, sometime.

But for those who are political pundits, like this blogger, and watch the act and art of politics play out at that level of the game, it has never been just about what the polls say today, or which one of the candidates “stubs their toe” on some word gaffe or political theatrics.

Those events are transitory at best, and if focused too hard on, distracting from what is all happening at worst.

So, instead of thinking about the now, and getting into discussions over it (and trust me, as a political pundit, I have been in a number of those discussions), this pundit’s focus has been, instead, on what people are feeling and saying across the country for the long term.

To perform this observation, I utilized an opportunity to travel to two places on the continent during September – Coos Bay Oregon, and Washington D.C.- and open up my eyes and ears to what normal people are saying on the ground.

To set up the scenes, in mid-September, I traveled to Coos Bay Oregon to attend a wedding and see friends from my Junior Chamber service days. It was an odyssey to a place not seen by too many in Hawai’i, as the culture and nature there are quite different than that of the islands.

Later that month, I attended a symposium on college study-abroad programs organized by the State Department. Over three days, I engaged with study abroad and State Department staff participated in field trips, and received a briefing on global affairs at the State Department. Additionally, I visited the embassies of the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

“Stark” would be a word that one can use to describe the differences between the two locations. One is very down-home and rural, and the other is the center of American governance and diplomacy. Coos Bay showed me what a world looks like when people are separate enough from the noise of the campaigns, but are pretty sure whom they are going to vote for anyway. Washington showed me what people are doing and saying while hobnobbing with other so-and-so’s in various power circles.

One highlighted how the issues that make national headlines—specifically homelessness and drug use in American cities—are often portrayed suddenly and strikingly. Such was the case with an exchange I had with a bat-wielding drugged-up man who almost ran me over on the Coos Bay Boardwalk with his bike and then proceeded to both swing his bat at me and then ask me to exchange it for money – like all of my money.

The other perspective highlighted a contrasting set of priorities evident in Washington, D.C. I witnessed demonstrations near my hotel in support of Palestinian causes, culminating in a gathering in front of the Washington Post. In stark contrast, a group of men in front of the White House blared Christian music while waving flags emblazoned with Christian messages.

Of course, there was the bigger formality of what Washington DC is when it comes to dealing with institutions of power – in my case the State Dept. and the embassy visits.

And in that, there was a notable sense of a “this is how we do it, this is how we’ve always done it” approach that, in contrast to the chaotic nature of politics, seemed quite comforting.

So you, as the reader seeing the description of both of these areas, would think that there would be wildly different approaches to how the presidential campaign was unfolding for them, then. And you would not be blamed if your answer came back “yup, they are different”.

But this blogger saw one very interesting common thread that went through both locations and sees it even in Hawai‘i, on how people are looking at the resulting announcement of who will be the next president.

In short, that thread is “prepare for everything”. Here is how that looks.

Unlike in 2016 or even 2020, when the presidential campaigns pitted an unknown versus a person who had assumptions packaged about them, this time around both main candidates are more known to the electorate, and in some cases, the electorate is more familiar with them.

So now the approach of many whom this blogger spoke to, in both places, has not been a “choose <candidate> over <candidate> or the world will end,” unlike what the tone was by many in 2020. The current tone, now, is “We must prepare for whoever is chosen and act accordingly.”

In other words, in the four years since President Joe Biden has been president, and the actions of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have been front and center of Americans since January 2021, Americans have gone from being reactionary and irrational to being proactive and measured in what they need to do, depending on outcomes.

Expanding on this idea, it’s clear that organized entities collaborating with the government to change laws, and policies, and allocate financial resources are not simply waiting on the sidelines for one candidate or another to be elected. Instead, they are preparing to address both potential outcomes.

This preparation includes, but is not limited to preparing lawsuits based on possible executive orders that will be signed soon after they get sworn in, preparing campaigns either for or against actions either do, and adjusting their approach to places like the Supreme Court or Congress, depending on who gets elected.

From an international standpoint, foreign countries are in a wait-and-see mode, not reacting either way when the subject comes up. In fact, in briefings, the issue of the election came up as a side note, keeping focus instead on the study abroad programs they would like to implement with the United States.

As Election Day approaches, a new mindset emerges across the country—one of readiness overreaction. From Coos Bay to Washington D.C., voters are shifting their focus from fear of the unknown to strategic preparation for the future. Whichever candidate wins, this blogger saw Americans embracing resilience, getting ready to adapt and thrive in the next chapter of our nation’s story.

And it could be that this proactive spirit may define our path forward, regardless of the outcome on November 5^th, as well as save it.