The two sheets of plexiglass that stood on the stage at the vice presidential debate were, according to experts, largely useless for preventing the spread of the coronavirus within the hall. They might have played a symbolic role in reminding us that we should participate in anti-coronavirus measures. But in suggesting a protection they did not afford, they were a form of public health theater, analogous to the security theater of taking off our shoes at the airport: a meaningless measure for the purpose of display, not practicality.
Much like those two sad stand-alone oblongs, the debate itself was a transparent, flimsy attempt to pretend that the United States has a thoughtful, policy-based approach to choosing its leaders, a kind of democracy theater which may make Americans feel better about the electoral process, but which does little to inform our choices.
