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NOT A DISASTA …
Wednesday Nov. 9, 2016
Maybe I’m getting jaundiced or my memory is fuzzy – I can’t remember when being a citizen of the world and of my country, that I’ve been as concerned about a U.S. election …
You can’t make this stuff up.
I admit being a politics junkie, neither fan nor foe of America’s system – fascinated though with how its founders created the Electoral College, how it works, how it balances the unbalanced.
Who is surprised, relieved, ‘just can’t believe it is so’ – and who is saying, ‘see, I told you so’?
The Trumping of things this year made many sane people question their collective sanity – wondering how any country could only offer up ‘those two’ candidates as choices.
To our American friends, to President-Elect Trump – oh my, what have you done?
World financial markets, corporations and countries will wake up and say, “what have they done?”. Americans, not unlike their distant British cousins who voted for Brexit – will wake up one day soon and say, “what have we done?”.
Credit and blame belong on many shoulders – but I suppose the most significant thing about freedom and democracy in its various forms, is that citizens of a country can make a choice whether it is wise or not, can make a decision without full considering its consequences. As a neighbor, as a visitor and trading partner I am amazed and somewhat dazed, somewhat confused.
To Hilary’s credit, she conceded. To Donald’s credit, he graciously accepted victory – he made a decent and credible speech notwithstanding a late hour.
Were Americans planning to make history? Yes, but I doubt most of them had a sense of the kind of history they were making. They know that campaigning and governing are two different things – but there will be so many Americans who suddenly have reason to be afraid because of their views, their race, their religion and their personal freedoms.
Popular vote vis-à-vis unpopular vote. I saw a headline yesterday that said ‘Race to the Top’ and my immediate reaction was, ‘NO, it was a race to the bottom’. Now, it’s done.
American media can now re-deploy reporters to find fresh diversions – the roller-coaster ride we’ve watched for nearly two years is over.
Is America the greatest country in the world anymore? Aaron Sorkin’s lines made that point in an exaggerated way – Jeff Daniels played it so well, but that’s fiction. Someone made it up, actors said the words and cameras caught it – the editor spliced it just right and we were entertained. But this is different.
There has never been anything like it before – or has there been?
History has a strange way of happening.
When something happens that has never happened before, we call it historic. Sometimes bizarre seems the better word. Each generation get to see their fair share.
Would you have bought a novel two years ago titled ‘Trump becomes POTUS’? Of course not, because it wasn’t plausible. This history of the world was altered overnight by an electorate who chose a leader they didn’t feel was qualified for a wide ranging combo of reasons, the crux of which was they disliked his opponent even more. Was it a vote for competence, or not, a vote for stewardship, or not, or for change for change sake?
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