Early and often; thoughts on US Election Day 2016
This is it, folks. US election day, 2016. My wife and I have our ballots all filled out and I'll drop them off at the polling place on my way to work.
By the end of the day, perhaps we'll know who's won the vote. Either way, there will be people shouting from the rooftops "We've made history!" And there will be others throwing stones at those people.
It'll either be our first female president (who frightens conservatives and liberals alike), or it will be the wealthy outsider-guy who says he'll clean up Washington who, you guessed it, frightens conservatives and liberals alike.
If Hillary wins, it's a win for pragmatism, lesser-of-evils thinking, a win for the old-guard Democrats who yearn to relive the glory days of the 1990s. It's a crushing blow to the Republicans who attribute the glory days of the 90s to the residual effects of Reaganomics.
If Trump wins, it's a win for demagoguery, a win for humanity's propensity to follow the loudmouths, a win in the same sense that Brexit Leave was a win.
Both sides' campaigns have been build securely on this premise: "Maybe we can win if we just ignore the other side's campaigns and shout ours louder." The overriding notion these past few months has been something akin to "s/he who shouts the loudest is right."
As I watch my baby daughter roll around on the floor, I hope we can dig ourselves out of this hole of willful ignorance that we've dug ourselves into. I hope we can build a world that is ruled less by talking points and more by intelligent discourse; less by lines-in-the-sand and more by meaningful negotiations and an understanding that making the other side's demands illegal doesn't make them disappear.
I like election days; I like watching history unfold before my eyes. I get a little thrill of excitement when a new batch of exit polls hits the media, when the electoral college counters tick inevitably towards 270. I just wish I could be more excited about what the next 4 years will bring.
I like the way you wrote this @biophil
As I am not from the USA I have refrained from passing comment on the election process these last months. I will say that I echo your hopes that
I hope we can build a world that is ruled less by talking points and more by intelligent discourse; less by lines-in-the-sand and more by meaningful negotiations and an understanding
But I fear that the whole World is going the other way. Though I haven't lived there for over ten years, I am from the nation that recently voted to Brexit and am saddened that ignorance won the day there too.
I am following your historic day with interest and we'll see which of the two evils wins the day/next 4 years. Thanks for sharing
The whole system is broken...the whole political system and our monetary system. The criminals have the helm and we really just need to build a new system that encompasses Love for the earth and humanity, not love of power and money. The more people that take back their power from the government the better!
sorry just had to say it. Namastay at home and send love to you all!!
I'm with you 100%
I get the feeling that the crypto world is filled with people like us. We are taking back the power, not with guns and violence but with logical, functioning alternatives that actually work. Even living here in Venezuela I find myself paying, and being paid more and more frequently with crypto.
I'm glad you got this off your chest @namastaynpaint, it's always good to decompress
agreed amigo, I have a great movie that was recently recommended by a friend, Benny Wills from Joycamp on you tube, look him up he is HILARIOUS with his truth videos, its his favourite movie so my daughter and I watched it and it was sooooo wonderful I want to share it with you its called "La Belle Verte "and is in french but it has subtitles, if you watch it please message me and I want to know what you think. The director is the main character as well. delightful.
I'll take a look :D
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