Yes, I Suffer From ‘Donald Duck’ Derangement Syndrome and I’m Happy To Drink the Kamala Kool-Aid

Some of you may judge me if I told you I am writing this from my car as we are driving to drop my son off at college. I hear the gasps, but here I am anyway as doing this today and right now is more important than providing another home-cooked meal or ordering more furniture for his dorm room. The child knows what his mommy does and why, and he sure appreciates it. With that guilt out of the way, let’s get to business.

First, let’s set some ground rules — we are not going to name some names, not because we are afraid, but because those simply leave a bad taste in our mouths. Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse (as they are obsessed with cats, or more specifically childless cat ladies) are the names we chose for one side, and laffin’ Kamala and Coach Walz, Gus’s proud dad are on the other side. I see you are sensing some bias here, but that is what we are doing here, showing some well-deserved bias. On that note, we are also going to go low, very very low, to be on the same level as the other team. Alright, I am not usually this childish, but these are unusual times we are living in, and if we are doing this, we need to get complete satisfaction out of it.

My obsession/involvement with politics, especially during the last few election cycles started with Donald Duck (we are really doing this). In fact, I am proud to say I have the said derangement syndrome because I feel responsible. I feel guilty and ashamed about how we are going to be judged by history, just for being Duck’s contemporaries, similar to how I judge the entire world population living at the same time as the author of “Mein Kampf,” a really mean guy with “weird” facial hair (you see how low we are going here). On a serious note, I just can’t stop the sky-is-falling feeling that I get when I think of the election possibility here. 

I am not expecting a utopia here. I will be more pragmatic and acknowledge that there will always be imperfections. There will be people with moral ambiguity, or sometimes we may all end up in situations where it is not easy to make ethical decisions. I am not referring to those nuanced situations, I am talking about the utter lack of decency, morality, and kindness, or can I simply say civilization. 

Being unkind to kids and/or neurodiverse individuals, being brash with world leaders excluding some dictators, bragging about grabbing women, and actually doing so, being found guilty of sexual and so many other crimes that we are losing count, the list goes on. Is this the leadership we want in America? How can we even have policy discussions if we cannot find another individual who isn’t as corrupt, immoral, loose, rude, misogynistic, narcissistic, and childish?

We can put people on the right into three categories — his minions/clones like Rudy Giuliani, Ann Coulter, and some questionable news channels that do his bidding brazenly and openly, but I believe equally interesting are the more “responsible” ones that come up with milder theories downplaying his extreme behavior. There are of course the silent ones who don’t budge at all no matter what they hear or see, it is some serious but questionable loyalty that the narcissist enjoys. Oh, there’s the fourth kind that I am just seeing (and enjoying what I am seeing), which are the ones who are coming out and speaking up. I so appreciated Adam Kissinger, Stephanie Grisham, and Geoff Duncan sharing their views and experiences and warning the voters. After all, it is hard to stand up to your enemies but harder to stand up to your friends. 

As a Minnesotan who follows state politics closely, I was quietly rooting for Coach Walz. I have to confess there is a tiny bit of bias, but more respect and admiration towards him.

My more patient BFF says that people see the world differently and seek different things from the world around them. I am less tolerant than her, but totally agreed with her when she mused about how difficult it is to crack human psychology. In the end, we both secretly confessed to each other that once this is all over, we need both sides to come together at least on a few things, and keep a meaningful and respectful debate on the others. One can dream, right?

Every election season, I see people on both sides getting excited and hurling insults at each other, but it is those moderates, especially from purple states, who are ready to swing, that decide most elections. Their votes are so precious that they start feeling extremely powerful with the one vote they have. I don’t have a problem with that except, after overanalyzing everything, they still end up choosing the wrong thing. Remember how Hillary’s emails cost her the election even though the guy on the other side had many, many more scandals including sexual abuse? Swing voters, please remember, that with great power comes great responsibility.

To start with, it didn’t matter to me who I was voting for, Biden or Kamala. As a matter of fact, I would have even voted for a malaria-causing mosquito, so you see, it was more about keeping someone at bay than being picky about candidates on the other side. As someone who clearly cares about being fair in all matters, I showed no bias towards her as a female, especially of Indian origin. She however won my heart fair and square.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quick and efficient transition (referred to as a coup by someone jealous) of campaign activities, organizing calls and events, engaging voters, fundraising, and overall energizing her party. Kamala’s joyful laugh and exuberance to the hapless, whiny alternative we have makes the choice clearer in this election. Efficiencies and smiles aside, her heart is in the right place. 

I was also impressed with Kamala’s vice presidential pick. As a Minnesotan who follows state politics closely, I was quietly rooting for Coach Walz. I have to confess there is a tiny bit of bias, but more respect and admiration towards him. From giving access to abortions to mandating paid sick leave, he has many legislative victories that he can be proud of. When he rolled out free school lunches, I proudly posted on Facebook. From the messages he kept sending to my phone, first about Biden and then Kamala, I could tell how engaged he was with national politics. With his friendly, approachable, down-to-earth style, and more importantly, how his kids look up to him, he sure impressed me. He will be an asset and a powerful weapon for Kamala’s campaign.

I had my doubts but I gave our VP pick on the other side a serious chance to impress me. I read his book (and watched the Netflix movie) and thought as someone who has gone through such hardships, he would be a good candidate to understand and help the middle class. I didn’t need to go too long or too deep to understand that he lacks substance. He cannot recover from the gaffes he’s made in the first few days and he should seriously stop making small talk at diners and donut shops — they are getting weirder. 

Someone also needs to tell him he should check his meanness, as his boss is the only one who enjoys that kind of immunity and receives unconditional love and loyalty from his cult. Even with all his immunity, Duck distances himself from Project 2025 and you had good things to say about the “visionary” of this abomination? If childless cat ladies cannot make legislative decisions involving kids, how can men with no female parts make decisions about women’s bodies? Double standard? 

Fortunately for me, I am finding many more voices, now more vocal than before, clearly energized by the formidable Harris/Walz ticket. To not lose my sanity, it is important for me to know of their existence and to stay in touch, share thoughts, and get inspired. I am going beyond Facebook, Twitter and even TikTok to find such voices, voices of reason and motivation. Stay active people, as complacency is a crime.

To my moderate friends, ethical ambiguities should be about mercy killings or using lab rats, not about Donald Trump (will have to wash my mouth later). When someone shows you who they are, believe them. While all living Democratic presidents have endorsed Kamala Harris, not a single endorsement from any living GOP Presidents to the other guy. Shouldn’t that mean something?

---

Padma Nadella is an IT professional who lives in Eagan, Minnesota with her husband and 17-year-old son. She manages a Facebook group for Minnesotans to collaborate on events and activities related to health and fitness. The group now has over two thousand members. Jack of all trades, she enjoys playing volleyball, traveling the world, and entertaining mostly but dabbles in everything else.