I used to love political campaigns, regardless of the role I played – and I’ve played a lot of roles. Whether a canvasser, campaign manager, strategist, communication person, transportation coordinator, candidate proxy or whatever, I took my unpaid job seriously because it’s all about advancing a Black political agenda to either consolidate power or to get to governance. My enthusiasm has been waning in recent years. What I call the ‘shot across the bow’ with the alleged attack on presidential candidate trump definitely took my gusto level down a few notches.

There are some, maybe even more than some, who believe the missed shot at 130 yards from an unsecured building, intentionally left outside the perimeter set up by the Secret Service, was a political hoax. Many security questions remain unanswered for now. However, the image of trump, emerging from a huddled circle of protective agents with a blood trickle down his cheek and a defiant fist raised, will live forever. It’s the kind of photo opp you would almost die for (pun intended).

The conspiracy theories abound. The MAGA folks went into the Republican National Convention with a crazed fervor and have seized the political momentum once again.

My opinion is that regardless if the assassination attempt was set up or not, I will have to dig deep inside for some ancestral inspiration in order to cross the finish line on November 5. We know that it absolutely will not be the end of the journey.

Here are two issues which are zapping my energy and testing my patience:

For months now, I have been discussing and debating with people who want to stand down in the presidential election. It has been followed with a challenge that if you allow trump to ascend the throne, then you must have a formidable strategy of resistance to save the masses of working people from the slobbering jaws of fascism. This election is not happening in a vacuum. It is happening in an orchestrated environment designed for the Democratic electorate to drink the Kool-Aid. The drink will either provoke feelings of disillusionment or apathy, and thereby accelerate the consolidation of the extremist right.

In a situation similar to the congressional election between Jamaal Bowman and George Latimer, Cori Bush (MO D-1) is facing an opponent financed by pro-Israel groups. Bush made history to take down the Clay dynasty to become the first Black, female to represent the first Congressional District in Missouri. Her opponent? Wesley Bell. He was elected as the first Black St. Louis County Prosecutor in the aftermath of the Ferguson Uprising. These contentious races expose the divisions within the Democratic Party, particularly around Palestinian liberation. It also highlights the lack of party leadership to unite its constituents around a national agenda. The racial justice movement is working overtime to re-elect Cori Bush. Even if we don’t believe the polls – which has her 20+ points behind Bell – we see Bell’s back-to-back TV ads and the avalanche of slick campaign literature coming into voters’ homes. A Democratic defeat locally and nationally will be a devastating setback on many levels.

The apparent attempt on trump’s life by a young Republican, can only fuel the volatile rhetoric spewed by trump and ultimately escalate into political violence. It’s the kind of violence that we’ve seen justified by the false narrative that both sides are guilty of fanning the political flames. The body count does not corroborate this nonsense. Think about abortion clinics being bombed, the doctors who were murdered. Think about the attacks on Muslims. Think about the anti-gay contempt, especially directed at trans people, which often turns into physical violence. Think January 6.

I’m confident that I will get out of this political malaise and be hyper-focused on organizing with purpose and integrity. The question is, will this country pull itself out of the swamp of white pathology that excites and engages the most backward sectors into believing they are headed in a righteous direction.