Everyone keeps saying that we're nervous about tomorrow's election.
I don't know about you, but I'm not nervous at all. The reason is quite simple... It's not all up to me to feel any way except how I feel for myself. Since very little ever flusters me, especially in the political arena, all I know is that I'm going to do my part and hope that everyone else is doing their part as well.
I also believe that I have a rational expectation that Hillary Clinton is going to win... Given the fact that the emotions of all the people with whom I disagree on just about every subject seems to run the gamut from despair and frustration to apoplexy and delusions, that puts a smile on my face. I expect to be pleased by tomorrow night's outcome.
And it's the risk of living in a large, diverse representative democracy is having to cope with the outcomes that may come. Like them or not, they are what they are. Win or lose, all of us need to internalize the results of our collective choice. Some of it may not be pretty, while some of it may be downright glorious... Welcome to the real world. In a way, the results of elections are litmus tests of our individual and collective coping skills. I tend to think that we, on the left, can do that much better that those on the right.
I mean that I've yet to hear any Hillary voters threatening to storm the White House if it doesn't turn out our way tomorrow... Who are the adults in the room again?
However, if I did have one power, I would grant every eligible voter a strong motivation to be an intelligent, informed and conscientious voter, instead of this system which discourages people from voting, cages their votes and even suppresses the vote.
People need to have a sense that they have control over their own lives, and participating in open and free elections are especially important in free societies.
Unfortunately, I can't say that our society is free... Not by judging who we have to choose from, but because the outcomes of our political processes are so disparate from how we see ourselves as a society. Not to mention the fact that so many in power and money seem to fear the power of the vote and are intent on overturning the needs of all of the people.
I'll say this, though, whoever wins the White House, that will be a testament to our collective self-image. There are two sides to either candidate winning: For those supporting Hillary Clinton, most of us see her as a positive, intelligent, compassionate and competent individual who is benefitted by years of experience. This makes her greatly qualified to handle the nation's affairs in our minds.
The other side sees her as evil incarnate, out to destroy everything they hold dear... This is no accident, since she's been the target of baseless right wing smears for thirty years. If all the believe are the smears, their delusions about her are going to be more realistic than reality itself.
Those who support Donald Trump see in him whatever they want to see in him. To the willfully blind he's a cypher for his supporters to make of him however they're inclined. This is basically because they're only in if for themselves. Trump has promised a certain segment the world and despite the fact that he's completely unable to give it to them even if he was in the Oval Office, none of that matters. He's a con man, selling the sizzle, not the steak. (Which is appropriate, because his scheme to sell his nasty-assed steaks collapsed like most of his other failures.)
As I've said, it's about outcomes. And to me the outcomes are pretty clear: If and when Hillary wins, it'll be a win for everyone, including those who stand against her. The same thing happened when Barack Obama was twice elected, despite the protestations of the RWNJs. The years under a Clinton Presidency should be the same.
It could be better... The Republicans could also be ejected from elective office as well, but I'm not getting my hopes up there. We have to take the bad with the good and work toward better outcomes.
If Trump is somehow elected, given everything that we all know about this person, we're all fucked, RWNJs included. All that's left to do is declare America as a failed experiment. And I certainly don't expect his supporters to take any responsibility for such a debacle. They're just going to take out their frustrations on any convenient scapegoats.
Unfortunately, under the latter scenario we'd all be asking ourselves what's the worst that can happen. I really don't want to think about that at all. Given our reasonable expectations, I'm sure that we'll never have to consider that.
So, see you all at the polls tomorrow and remember that we're ALL STRONGER TOGETHER.
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