November 7, 2016
I am ready for the results of the election. I am ready to move forward. For the past seven days I have posted hearts on my Facebook page. This last day before Americans vote I wish for peace and quiet. My last heart is formed from two question marks. These marks embody the choices facing Americans.
While it would be wonderful if everyone voted, you can see from the chart at the end of this essay (Statistic Brain) that only about 3/4 will. If the prediction holds, at least it will be better than 2012.
The election is just the beginning not the end. I actually believe Mr Trump will fade but he has unlocked Pandora’s ugly box and the key is destroyed. This will take, in my humble opinion, a full generation to resolve. It will take people who teach, enquire, reflect and patiently raise the logic and love standards—so that we can have an educated and emphatic populous again—and not a reptilian-instinct hate-filled side show. It will take Christians returning to Christianity.
We are in this for a long haul. I am optimistic that the “millennials” will raise the decency bar. Mr Trump is so far removed from their value system that I am optimistic that the viper’s nest that he has stirred with his ugliness-stick will fold into earth’s mantle once this generation is in charge. I remain optimistic in the long-term. I am, needless to say, fearful of the short-term. There will be violence, death, loss of friendships, splitting of families, recalcitrance and retribution. Ms Clinton, assuming she does win, will endure more hate and investigations that Mr Obama ever did. Racism exhibited towards her will pale in comparison to the misogyny directed towards her. We are witnessing, through Ms Clinton’s fearless endurance, the birth of a new generation of respect for women. But this will not happen before the impotent, easily threaten man-boys fade away. Their sad displays of “manhood” are but weak signs that they can not come to grips with equality. What is sad for me (a father of three daughters) is how many men need to feel superior to any woman to feel like a man. See this excellent essay on this topic in The Guardian newspaper entitled “End this misogynistic horror show. Put Hillary Clinton in the White House.”
Whether or not Mr Trump loses, he too will be mired in legal wrangles. I suspect his house of cards will fall eventually. His shallow and callous manipulation of people’s legitimate fears, anxieties and propensities toward hate will eventually be fully exposed. It will take some time for the “press” (a word I use cautiously in these shallow waters of internet false-news-sites) to return to true journalism. See Dan Rather’s excellent post on Facebook on the difference between the cynic and the skeptic in journalism. The rhetorical questions remains: “Who will replace Mr Trump?” and “Will true journalism return?”
Here is interesting literary take on the predictions of Apocalyptic endings.
I am grateful that we each have our right to vote. I am optimistic the United States of America will continue to craft a democracy that reflects the majority whilst letting the minority participate and shape the future of the country. Any other path will only lead to its demise and destruction.
So P E A C E to everyone. Vote with your heart…not your anger, fear, hate, prejudice, anxiety. T H I N K
| Percent of Americans who said they would definitely be voting in the 2016 presidential election | 69 % |
| Percent of Americans who said they would definitely be voting in the 2012 presidential election | 76 % |
| Total number of Americans eligible to vote | 218,959,000 |
| Total number of Americans registered to vote | 146,311,000 |
| Total number of Americans who voted in the 2012 Presidential election | 126,144,000 |
| Percent of Americans who voted in the 2012 Presidential election | 57.5 % |
| State with the highest voter turnout rate (Minnesota) | 75 % |
| State with the lowest voter turnout rate (Utah) | 53.1 % |
