Post Election Post

It is a surreal day today.   Chemo-brain is pretty strong right now and I keep remembering a vague thought of last night and I keep needed to verify it and I keep reliving it.   Trump is the 45th President of the United States.   Despite the flaws and the mistakes, he won fair and square.

Trump's victory really should come as no surprise, but that doesn't mean it doesn't.   If one watched the polls, without going into their actual number, one had to notice Clinton's didn't move.    That means her support was her support and that was she was going to get and it turns out that the 48% WAS all she got.    Trump's numbers went up and down: should have shown us that his was a passion based campaign, and passion runs high.   Passion trumps reason, no pun intended.

Clinton was better on paper, but Clinton also, as Rush Limbaugh pointed out last week has her fingerprints all over government for the last 30 years.   If you are upset with how the parties have run the nation these last few decades, only one candidate was involved.    Hate the wars?   Only one candidate voted for them.   Hate the economy?   Only one candidate was involved in shaping it.   Obamacare?   Only one candidate helped pass it.    Trump had no place in our political history and therefore was clean of our political mess.    Better on paper became a liability in this weird year of world elections.

Why did polls fail?   Because Trump supporters were belittled to the point that none of them wanted to admit to it in public.    Sounds weird, I know, but it is pretty much spot on I feel.    Trump's behaviours made supporting him at times seem...I lack the word right now, but I think you get my drift.   Anyway, his actions made it so that people didn't want to admit to supporting him.   I think the fear of the misogyny label made some fear admitting they just opposed Clinton.    I think the news over the last week hadn't factored into the polls yet, and last week was a bad new week for Clinton.

And Clinton was a horrible candidate.   I don't think you could have found one with more baggage and with less couth when it comes to dealing with an untrusting public than her.   She fed into the mistrust rather than countering it.   The more she said "trust me," the more her issues arose to bring her trust into question which resulted in her simply attacking the accusers rather than correcting the accusation.

Did Russia hack various email accounts as a ploy to shape and influence our elections?  Probably, but that doesn't answer our concerns over the content of said emails.   The more her people attacked the questioners, the more valid the questions appeared to the public.

Here is another simple and sad truth: in 2008 the people voted for change.   Obama was an outsider and the outsider status was his appeal to many voters, but he didn't stay an outsider long and while he did change certain things, too many other problems were either expanded or ignored and the people were still waiting for that change.    Clinton offered more of the same.  Obama said his legacy is attached to Clinton's win.   The people looked at the last 8 years and said "no thanks, we'll gamble again on the outsider" and this time they went even more outside.

I hope things work out.   I fear the pendulum may have overswung to the right, but I have faith in the America people.   We are easily lead temporarily, but we have a strong compass that doesn't let us drift too far off course.    The truth is we were going to be uneasy, sick, and scared no matter who won yesterday, so let's just work on working together to keep them in check.

Almost Over

One week to go until November 9th!   One more week of worry, stress, and mostly eagerness to get it all over with.   According to a report on NPR this weekend, we are not alone in feeling these things: it is rampant across the nation.    Most people know someone who has unfriended at least one person in real life over this election according to the report... not Facebook unfriending, but real unfriending.   That is insane to me, but it is almost over.   I am 100% certain a good percent of my Facebook friends have blocked my posts this election cycle and I can only hope they remember to unblock me.

Be prepared my fellow Lemmings and tread smartly for these next few days.   Remember you can't believe ANYTHING being reported; anything you hear; anything you see; anything!   At this point, everyone has an agenda and a reason to say what they say and, more importantly, a reason to not say what they would otherwise say.   Everything on TV and from every candidate's mouths is designed to scare you into doing something they way someone else wants you to do it.  

Be strong!   Trust in yourself.    Remember you have to look yourself in the mirror every day of your life after November 8th, so make sure you vote is one you can live with the outcome of.   Don't let fear get in the way of logic and reason.   Know what you are not only voting against but are voting for.

And please, for the love of G-d, forgive your family, friends, and acquaintances who may choose to vote differently than you do.  

Be strong America.  I have faith we will do what is best for this nation in the end and we can handle anything history may have instore for us.