5 Points (or The Citizens and the Case of the Curious POTUS)

Well, where do I begin?

First off, we have a new president-elect, in case you didn’t hear. With that, full disclosure: I was a “lesser of two evils” voter. I chose to vote for the devil I know, rather than the devil I don’t. I realize that’s not saying much. I don’t feel the need to defend myself for that, because as I have said before I am a realist, and I feel we weren’t given much in the way of options to begin with.

Second, with regard to Trump’s nonexistent track record, I just sit here truly hoping that he doesn’t prove inept in his ability to run a country. I’ll hope for the best on that point.

Third, I feel that we as a country do this same dance every four-to eight years where we’ve grown fickle with the “establishment” and therefore feel the need to vote in the opposite party. Not realizing that the new boss is the same as the old.

Fourth, the amount of venom from both sides post-election is shameful. I continue to struggle with how anyone can get so caught up in being part of this mob mentality that we have labeled as “republican” and “democrat”. I will continue to assert that we need more options, and we need to get away from pretending that either of these parties is interested in changing anything that will take away their power, prestige or position.

Fifth (and perhaps most important), we all love drama right? It’s human nature. And realistically speaking Trump being elected and having people claim Armageddon is exactly that drama. Truth be told, the world will continue to turn, we will continue to be who we are. Even those of us that are part of groups that are at risk for marginalization and discrimination, will continue to do what we always do; rise above.

There's Always a Choice

I’ll start with a bit of a disclaimer: I am no expert on politics. That won’t shock any of you that know me personally as you’ve probably often wondered if I am even aware of the fact that it’s an election year.            Oh, but I am, those tacky signs pinned on every street corner, in every city- they’re a dead giveaway! By the way, I’ll mention that the street corners are appropriate places for those wastes of paper and space.             

                That being said, I have a few things I need to get off my chest, and I’ll try to be as honest (or as “un-politician-like”) as I can as I go through these items.

The Lesser of Two Evils

                First off, we as a country are facing two absolutely abysmal choices for “candidates” from the Republican and Democratic parties this year. On one hand we have a self-serving, greedy, bigot, and on the other we have a self-serving, lying, sellout. It makes you think that we have hardly any choice at all. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that either one could be president.

We Need a Change        

                I’ll admit I was going to vote for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, but unfortunately due to a state law saying I needed to be registered with that party 30 days prior in order to do so, I was barred. That being said, I am a realist, and I didn’t mourn over the fact that he lost the democratic nomination to Mrs. Clinton. At this stage I will neither cry over it, nor entertain inter-party conspiracy theories (although it does make one wonder).

                I say all that, to say this; we need political reform. The delegate/super-delegate system, Electoral College, corporate donations, lack of term limits, and other archaic practices are only in place so that each party doesn’t lose more control than is acceptable at any given time.

                They’ve conditioned you to cheer for your chosen political party like it’s a Super Bowl matchup for the ages. People are more concerned about what side wins or loses than who actually gets anything done once they get elected. Personally, it’s not a matter of popularity, looks or celebrity endorsements with me- I want results!

Agree to Disagree?

                Which brings me to my next point: the donkeys and elephants despise each other, that’s been clear to me since I was a child. Get two guys or gals together; different religion, different backgrounds different education…9 times out of 10 they are usually fine until someone brings up politics. However, we should hold our elected officials to a higher standard. You don’t have to agree on every issue in order to make progress. I was a project manager at a huge corporation for a decade- guess what? I often had to work with colleagues that I didn’t agree with (gasp), even on occasion, those I didn’t like!

                I couldn’t stymie or filibuster them into oblivion because at the end of the day my boss wanted results. If I didn’t have them? Then I imagine my walking papers would’ve been promptly drawn up.

                If you can’t agree on how to solve for a particular issue, at least you can agree it’s a problem facing the nation. My suggestions to our legislators from across the aisles would be to start there. Work together, your ideologies may differ but you can at least agree on a starting point. Be professional, and do the job you were elected to do, rather than the bidding you pledged to your political party.

*All rights to The New Yorker magazine where applicable

Thinking it Over

                Now I’ve come to a point where I am certain that I will not be voting for Clinton or Trump come Election Day. Do I just sit at home and drink a beer, eat a few handfuls of Doritos and hope for the best? I don’t think I can manage that. In fact, I’m not sure if I could live with myself over that type of inaction in the face of such mounting peril. The question becomes who then?

                My answer; at this point I don’t know. I am currently looking at the Johnson & Weld ticket, and doing some research to see where they are at on issues. While still politicians, I feel that they may be more results-focused, rather than special interest-focused than our other choices at this stage. This isn’t an endorsement, as I am still currently vetting them as an option. But I know what you’re going to say to that; “A vote for anyone outside of the two major parties is a wasted vote” – if you truly think that, reread what I wrote above about being conditioned- and then reconsider why you think that.*

                See you at the polls…God help us all.

-          David  

UPDATE
                So I thought it an idea (maybe not a "good" one, but an idea nonetheless) to add an update as we have gotten much closer to election day, and so much has happened since I initially wrote and posted the original blog.
                I felt compelled to address what seems to me to be the main arguments between both democrats and republicans regarding the other party's candidate, and they are: integrity and capability.
                I'll begin with integrity. Let's be honest, both major candidates are less than truthful. Clinton's main detractors point to her mismanagement of classified emails and her utilization of an alleged pay-to-play strategy in regards to her dealings with persons of power and their involvement with the Clinton Foundation, and Benghazi. Those who oppose Trump cry foul regarding his shady business dealings, disparaging remarks about...well pretty much everyone except wealthy white men, grabbing *ahem* things that don't belong to him, and lack of releasing tax returns. Neither candidate is ideal, neither candidate inspire much hope when viewed through a realistic lense.
                Which brings me to my next point around capability. If I am objectively reviewing both candidates behavior and record and see reasons to distrust both, where does that leave me?
                Well to be frank it leaves me with a poor choice. However, with that being said if I am already willing to accept that both candidates lie, or are at least less than truthful on a regular basis, it has to come down to who can get the job done, right? Given Trump's panache for child-like tirades, gross misstatement (or perhaps misunderstanding?) of statistics, and lack of culpability for his own actions / statements, I cannot in good conscious cast a vote for a man who's only possible strength is that he hasn't abused power in a political setting...yet.
                To expand, claiming Trump is anti-establishment and shakes up both the republicans and democrats because he is an outsider with no interest in party pandering or favors might be accurate, but it has become quite clear that Trump is only out for Trump, and if elected I foresee the man taking office and using the country itself to further his business dealings and nothing more. Moreover, I believe that Clinton can and will do what she can to help the disenfranchised in this country, even if she herself profits while doing so.
                 To wrap up, I've already cast my vote via early ballot, and I'll let you use the above diatribe to determine who it went toward. But know this: I can only say I voted for the lesser of 2 (more accurately 4) evils and that realization doesn't make me feel proud this election year.

May God have mercy on our souls.
- David
10/21/16

*I'll add that after researching both the Johnson/ Weld and Stein/ Ajamu policy and platforms I found them both to be at best lacking substance, and at worst ignorant on government structure, operations and processes. But I wanted so badly for them to be robust, and well laid out. Really and truly, I did.
             
               

Combating Terror

 First off, I am no expert. What I offer in the below is what I believe to be a bipartisan solution to the terror attacks that have unfortunately become all too common across the globe and here at home within the U.S.

We may see eye-to-eye on these points, or we may differ on all counts but in order to solve for this horrific epidemic we need a multipronged approach that addresses more than a single religion or race as the antagonist or a single populace as the victim.

                In the aftermath of the Orlando shootings that occurred in the early hours of June 12^th I am still wondering how we can live in a world where violence is becoming less predictable by the second. How it seems, as people we can let one of our own drift so far astray that they could not only justify, but then visit, the most heinous acts upon another human being. The concept is beyond me.

                Those of you that read this page regularly are aware that I try to approach my ramblings with a clumsy sort of humor in order to lighten the subject matter at times to provide levity. This subject however, being one of the most grim I have written on, will not fit that mold. I intend to stay focused and solemn out of respect for the victims and their families and friends, as I collect my thoughts on what is no doubt a serious and real subject.

                Item #1 – What are we dealing with?

                Recall that this isn’t solely a “gay” issue, this isn’t even a “Muslim” issue, and it ceased being a local, or even American problem years ago. We need to understand that trying to label and assign generalizations to those who have been attacked, or those that do the attacking is presumptive, and generally a waste of time. It’s futile as rationale human beings to try and assign meaning to the meaningless.

                Terrorism, foreign or domestic is (and has been) a global issue. Both its perpetrators and targets are faceless, and yet known to us- because they are us.

                Item #2 – What’s the diagnosis?

                No one can argue that any person; man or women, black, white, brown or orange that conspires to carry out atrocities against innocent strangers cannot be deemed mentally stable. We as people need to take responsibility and increase our own awareness for our fellow person. We need to ensure that no soul falls through the cracks of society and thus is never in a position to be retrieved by a group like ISIS, or otherwise allow dark thoughts to begin to take root.

                We need to take ownership of the mental stability of our society, make a better effort to engage people where they are at, and act like we care instead of only saying we do.

                Who knows, in time maybe we can add resources and outreach programs at a national level, but it starts in our communities.

                Item #3 – Action speaks louder than inaction

                Around the world our leaders need to come to a consensus with groups that would commit acts of terror, or claim responsibility, that doing so puts a target on the backs of its members.

                Those with the authority to do so then must seek out those targets, and simply put make examples of them, whether that be financially, materialistically, or more *final* measures.

                Send the message that we may not have struck the first blow, but we will strike the last.

                I know that in a lot of ways the above is general, its level of hopefulness possibly only dwarfed by its abstract assembly, but it beats the buzz word filled blame game approach (“gun control”, “gun free zones” etc.) and ham-fisted rhetoric (“radicalized Muslim”, “refugees”) of those politicos who seem to only use these sad events to elevate their level of publicity instead of actually presenting a course of action to combat them. In closing, if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

                Its in that vein where I’ll wrap up, if you don’t like my ideas, rather than lampoon them; I encourage you to formulate some of your own. Then try to act upon them (form a community group, write your elected officials). Who knows your inventiveness just might save lives.