This will be a weird election, but not in the sense of uniqueness. If anything, 2024 is a race to find out who can best ignore recent history and doom the rest of us to repeat the weirdest aspects of it.

Society, even that of what once was Christendom, is not Christian. Exhibit A: the Olympics’ opening ceremony’s now infamous scene mashing up Greek mythology, Christian iconography and drag queens. If Christendom is now Inclusivedom, though, could Christians at least get a serving of the inclusivity pledged in this society’s creed?

The speed at which our language is being changed is as dizzying as the particular changes are mind-numbing. In theory, we’re moving toward a kinder, more “inclusive” language, but if this is how we’re going to get there, maybe communicating by grunts would be more efficient.

As the multitude of cicadas sang briefly across the nation this past month, a storm blew one of them onto my path. Strange as it may sound, as I witnessed that little bug struggle through the aftermath, I was given a masterclass on dealing with my own storms.

I could have written this column, regardless of the outcome. Half the country has put its hopes in an all too human “savior.” Half the country has put its hopes on the defeat of that man. Today marks either a celebration or a catastrophe if one’s hopes rest on the state of President Trump. That tells more of our false hopes than anything else.

I can barely hear right now. The cicadas’ songs are in full swing. One cicada isn’t that loud and many are still a wonder of the world, but what of the less pleasant cacophony of man-made noise we call “warnings” and “alerts”?

Who would have thought a National Review alum who has been a long-time Evangelical voice on politics, known for arguing for civility, would be a controversial choice to appear on a panel about politics in a conservative, Evangelical denomination? A few years ago, that’d have seemed absurd. Oh, for a few years ago.

In a parallel universe last week, Iranian drones and missiles were launched against two pro-Western democracies. The same two that received those volleys in our universe; just one bit was different in Universe Two: there, the West scrambled jets to protect Ukraine, leaving Israel to fend for itself.

The news cycle of Holy Week has convinced me: I don’t think we need further separation of church and state, but we need separation of our politicians from church. As a friend likes to quip, “You can help me more by helping me less.”

Disaster struck a few weeks back. After 291 days straight, my Wordle victory streak crashed and burned. I should say, the computer thought it ended. I got another day’s word correct, but my account was marked as if I’d missed it. Talk about a genuine crisis.