Tag Archives: John Kasich

Our Post-Election Choice

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Democrats and Moderate Republicans are responding to a disappointingly close election in at least three different ways.

A) The “Perplexed Yet Respectful Resistance” response.Screen Shot 2020-11-04 at 9.57.28 AM

B) The “Angry, I Don’t Know Anyone Outside of New York City, Mindless Stereotype” response. Note that you can negatively stereotype by race, class, and gender and still be given a Nobel Prize.Screen Shot 2020-11-04 at 10.01.07 AM

C) The “Hopeful Healing” response.Screen Shot 2020-11-04 at 10.03.42 AM

I propose “D“, which is “Hopeful Healing” preceded by a six month-long moratorium on political discussion of any kind. We need a collective time-out. Eventually though, we need to start asking questions, listening to, and learning from people who think and vote differently than us.

Or maybe six years?

I’m an Idiot

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Effective leaders mix humility, kindness, and composure, in what may be thought of quite simply, as “human decency”.

Most Republican primary voters do not share my view. The one candidate displaying the most decency is in last place. And it appears as if most Democratic primary voters do not share my opinion either. The Democratic candidate exhibiting the most humility, kindness, and composure is losing that race too.

I can’t help but conclude, I’m an idiot.

I also believe life in the United States has improved over the last seven years—fewer people are destitute around the world, GLBT citizens are enjoying new civil rights, more people are working and have health insurance, our environmental ethic is stronger, we’re opting for diplomacy over conventional warfare, the stock market has more than doubled in value, and everything has worked out beautifully on Downton Abbey.

Most Republican primary voters do not share my view. Apparently, the frontrunner’s success is the result of deep-seated, widespread anger at the state of things. In their view, we don’t win anymore. Who cares about people in other places, traditional marriage and religious liberty are under constant attack, socialized medicine means worsening quality of care, and who cares about the stock market when there’s not any savings to invest. If only “W” could have had a third and fourth term.

My whacked out thinking is probably the result of my white, male, well-to-do privilege trifecta. In the interest of going along to get along, maybe I should get more angry, think more negatively, and support the most brash candidate possible, human decency be damned.