The Post Election Blues
As you get older, I think you really begin to notice patterns in people's behavior. Just two short years ago was the 2012 election. Obama won handily, the dems gained 2 senate seats and 8 house seats. For me, those two years flew by, maybe because two years isn't really that much time. These elections come at us at a fevered pitch and I think most of us have seen more of these election years come and go than we realize. As I experience more and more of these elections, I see the same events play out over and over. The party that wins claims it is a sign of a revolution, the side that loses claims the Apocalypse is upon us, and the media declares the losing party to be DOA. And then two years passes and everything plays out all over again.
Think, just two years ago, all of us were on top of the world. We were vindicated. The tea party was a failed experiment, Romney and his big money lost to honest middle class Americans, and the progressive revolution was here to stay. That was 2 long years ago. Today, the democratic party is on its last legs, the United States has sold it soul to the Republicans and their greedy corporate masters, and without hyperbole, we are doomed. Of course, the thing happened 4 years ago. Oh my god, the democrats lost 6 senate seats and 64 house seats! There was no coming back from that. It wasn't like the glory days of 2008. We won the presidency! With 53% of the vote and by nearly 200 electoral votes. Reason and progress crushed a cynical old man and is frighteningly unqualified running mate. God, not to mention gaining 24 house seats and 8 senate seats. It was truly revolution that would stand the test of time.
But maybe its naive to view elections in a bubble, without looking to the past and the future for some prospective. There is nothing wrong with living in the moment. You feel how you feel. Sometimes you feel an almost euphoric joy and sometimes you slip into deep despair. Such is the nature of living. But I believe that as life goes on, its best to take a step back and realize that some events are going to occur, as they have always occurred and will always occur. The United States, the Democrats, the Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives have been around since before any of us were born and they will exist long after all of us leave this mortal plane. Some years the Democrats will win, some years they won't. Some elections the Republicans will take control of the Senate, some years they will lose it. And maybe you will feel hopeless, confused, or angry or maybe you will feel a sense of relief and pride, maybe even euphoria. Its not my place to say that is wrong. If you feel the post election blues today then that is where you are right now. My only hope is that the endless ups and downs of this process don't overwhelm you or control your life. Let's make sure, when everything settles down, that we have prospective and realize that our next revolution could be just two short years away.
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This isn't a spectator sport where we cheer winners and boo losers - elections have real consequences on real people, and the many who are getting left behind will likely be worse off due to this result.
Some factors are pretty recent such as Citizens United and the flow of dark money - of course, through the years it has always been something - but it doesn't seem like our government has quite been for sale, and in the hands of so few with so much, in my life time, anyway.
So yes, we all live to fight or laugh or cry another day - but you have to admit, there are some troubling trends afoot.
good discussion for a late Wednesday night.