Take a deep breath and calm down, please?
OK, so you are upset with the election results.
Or maybe not.
The whole election process has been so bitter and so prolonged that it is hard not to be feeling something about the outcome. The collective hissy fit that our political left is pitching is, I guess, their right, but is it just me, or does it seem a tad out of proportion? On the right, the collective head scratching and equally unbecoming hissy fit about what's next is just as bad.
Donald Trump? Who'd a thunk that?
(By the way, my Southern family has corrected me that one does not "have" a hissy fit, nor does one "throw" it. One "pitches" it.)
I got to thinking about my own voting record. My first time voting was in 1972, which was, I think, the first year that 18 year olds were allowed to vote. Richard Nixon was running against Eugene McCarthy. I voted for McCarthy.
Next election was in 1976, and with hopeful exuberance, voted for Jimmy Carter. I still believe that Carter was a good man who was in way over his head, and failed as a result.
I did not vote for Ronald Reagan in 1980, and I am unsure if I did in 1984. But Reagan did very well, I think, and that changed my perspective on a lot of things. I became a great deal more Libertarian in my views--which essentially meant more fiscally conservative and somewhat more socially liberal.
I did not vote for George H.W. Bush in 1988 , nor for Bill Clinton in 1992 or 1996. I voted Libertarian in all of those years, as I did in 2000, 2008, 2012, and in the most recent, 2016. George Bush got my vote in 2004 because I believed he was doing a decent job with bad situations, and that a change in leadership was not a good idea at that point in time. I did not vote for Barack Obama.
My point is that, in 44 years, the last 11 Presidential elections, I have only voted for the winner twice.
How did I ever survive?
Simple. I have lived my life in the best way I could. Turns out that whomever resided in the White House made absolutely no difference.
Not once did I protest in the streets, lose sleep, go to Key West for a tequila bender, and I certainly did not pitch a hissy fit. I didn't threaten to move to Canada, either.
I do not question the intelligence of those who voted for any of the candidates, nor their judgement. I may be naive, but I like to think that, like me, those folks voted according to their conscience and values.
So relax, take a deep breath and get on with your life. Be a good person, treat others well.
Everything else is just noise.
Or maybe not.
The whole election process has been so bitter and so prolonged that it is hard not to be feeling something about the outcome. The collective hissy fit that our political left is pitching is, I guess, their right, but is it just me, or does it seem a tad out of proportion? On the right, the collective head scratching and equally unbecoming hissy fit about what's next is just as bad.
Donald Trump? Who'd a thunk that?
(By the way, my Southern family has corrected me that one does not "have" a hissy fit, nor does one "throw" it. One "pitches" it.)
I got to thinking about my own voting record. My first time voting was in 1972, which was, I think, the first year that 18 year olds were allowed to vote. Richard Nixon was running against Eugene McCarthy. I voted for McCarthy.
Next election was in 1976, and with hopeful exuberance, voted for Jimmy Carter. I still believe that Carter was a good man who was in way over his head, and failed as a result.
I did not vote for Ronald Reagan in 1980, and I am unsure if I did in 1984. But Reagan did very well, I think, and that changed my perspective on a lot of things. I became a great deal more Libertarian in my views--which essentially meant more fiscally conservative and somewhat more socially liberal.
I did not vote for George H.W. Bush in 1988 , nor for Bill Clinton in 1992 or 1996. I voted Libertarian in all of those years, as I did in 2000, 2008, 2012, and in the most recent, 2016. George Bush got my vote in 2004 because I believed he was doing a decent job with bad situations, and that a change in leadership was not a good idea at that point in time. I did not vote for Barack Obama.
My point is that, in 44 years, the last 11 Presidential elections, I have only voted for the winner twice.
How did I ever survive?
Simple. I have lived my life in the best way I could. Turns out that whomever resided in the White House made absolutely no difference.
Not once did I protest in the streets, lose sleep, go to Key West for a tequila bender, and I certainly did not pitch a hissy fit. I didn't threaten to move to Canada, either.
I do not question the intelligence of those who voted for any of the candidates, nor their judgement. I may be naive, but I like to think that, like me, those folks voted according to their conscience and values.
So relax, take a deep breath and get on with your life. Be a good person, treat others well.
Everything else is just noise.
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