Perhaps you have turned your head in disgust when witnessing a bitter, out-of-control argument, two upset drivers barking at each other over a parking spot. Or think of that moment when you observed a violent act, a bloody fistfight or a recording of someone being murdered. An outrage occurred that you just could not countenance, so you looked away, the reality overloading your ability to cope.

Well, that first presidential debate was one of those moments. It was a cat fight, a snarling, fur-flying brawl to be forever unseen. It was a puddle something disgusting to sidestep on the footpath. If only memory banks came with a delete button. If you stayed for the whole putrid mess, you must be exhausted, not to mention repulsed by what has become of America’s political well-being.

Who won? Who lost? Not referring here so much to the candidates. How can one judge a contest that has few or no rules of competition? This tilt was more like a pig calling contest (the loudest “sooie,” along with the most ridiculous snorts and grunts proclaims itself as the dominant slop master). What value was the debate to the health of democracy in our country? The tone, I mean, was difficult to stomach.

When and if the next Biden-Trump debate airs, perhaps a long walk in the rain is in order, or a viewing of a Three Stooges’ rerun, or just about anything that insures you may look away from the political reality of what we call a presidential debate.