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With the conclusion of the bitterly contested 2016 national and state elections, do you speculate whether or not the country can return to an environment that resembles “normal”, whatever that is? I’m thinking, probably not. What a comic opera. We had two divisive lightning-rod presidential candidates representing the two major parties who, with their minions, seemed to divide the country even further. It was apparent that no outcome would be deemed acceptable much less satisfactory given the choice voters had to make. The result was stunning and unexpected—sort of an O. Henry surprise ending. The media is still reeling, and in sack-cloth-and-ashes mourning. In the past, they at least pretended to be neutral, but emotion over journalism stripped them bare. All pretense is gone. The two psychological processes of projection and denial have taken root, and have annihilated objective thinking. What makes the situation even more comical is that prior to the election, Democrats and media sternly scolded that Trump MUST accept the results of the election. (I hear a muted trombone going WAH-WAH-WAH in the background.) The Democrat Party and Hillary Clinton supporters deny their own culpability in the election results and continue to project blame toward everyone but themselves. And make no mistake it was THEIR fault. They ran a flawed candidate because it was “her turn”. She represented zero change from the previous administration, and was on record saying she would continue the policies of the last eight years. Huge mistake, which the Democratic National Committee (DNC) would have known had they been paying attention. (To his credit, Bill Clinton sharply warned the the DNC, and Hillary’s campaign manager, about their flawed strategy.) Since Obama took office, the Dems have been shellacked when he isn’t on the ticket, which is a clue that Americans like him, but not his party. Democrat losses are staggering: Since Obama took office there are 12 less US Senators, 63 less reps in the US House, 12 less Governors, 231 less State Senators, and 717 less State House representatives. Remember what the education system used to teach about solving a problem? Mainly, that you had to first admit that one existed—other than all voters on the other side being saliva-bubbling idiots. Sooo, first admit there is a problem. “Not a chance,” the DNC said. Regardless of the 2010, 2012, and 2014 election results, the Eastern elites, the academic leftists, their media lapdogs, and the polls backed-up their mindset. Here’s the reality: Denying a “problem” yielded no change in strategy and tactics. Deny, deny, deny. And that’s what they did. The DNC submarined Bernie Sanders, and practically worked to help Trump get the GOP nomination because (they thought) he would be easy to beat. The GOP didn’t want a disruptive candidate like Trump either making it three consecutive election cycles they haven’t been able to get out of their own way. Talk about ineptitude. Liberal is an adjective that means generous and tolerant; not narrow is one’s ideas and views; i.e., being open to discussion so beneficial change from lessons learned can be implemented. What has happened is that so-called liberals have stopped being liberal. Anyone who disagrees with them is shouted down, declared an enemy, called names like racist, homophobe, misogynist, idiot, stupid, rube, etc. Through the media, educational institutions, and certain regulatory institutions, discussion has been stifled. The Democrat Party alienated a large group of the population figuring they were “deplorable” anyway. Trump didn’t beat them; they beat themselves with their elitist nose-in-the-air attitude of (faux) superiority; and their misguided attempt to control public opinion. They, and their impotent GOP opponents have become an across-the-board despised DC establishment—and I mean that in the most negative way. Trump, like him or not, represents real change, which admittedly could be frightening, but the establishment has been cocking-up society for years to the point that people want ANY change from the established norm even if it represents a trip into an uncomfortable abyss—a terrifying black hole. Now, I know there are those who will say Clinton won the popular vote by three million (or something like that). California alone gave her a 2.7 million vote edge, and about two million of them may have been illegal—not even California disputes that. They simply sniff, “So what?” She also won by a comfortable margin in New York. Without those two states, Trump won the popular vote by over 500,000. (If you want to go state-by-state, Trump won 31 to 19.) From that we can conclude that the Democrats have become a coastal party. I mention that simply as raw data to be taken into account should the DNC wish to acknowledge and address the “real” problem. My generation coined the phrases “anti-establishment” and “never trust anyone over thirty”. We liked Ike, loved JFK, but loathed LBJ and Nixon, although Tricky Dick did provide unintended humor and entertainment. Unfortunately, when some of us exceeded thirty years of age we mutated into the establishment, and got sucked in by the lobby. Some of us became rigid defenders of the situation we abhorred. Generations that followed mine preferred not to think for themselves, and (mainly) blindly followed some charismatic mentor—usually one of us or (worse) social media. You should see the questionnaires I receive from the DNC. My opinion is “given” to me in multiple choice format. Hateful rhetoric abounds, which reads like it was written by a petulant adolescent. I assume GOP material is the same. The following is not a criticism of the worldview of those who majored in liberal arts, but simply a point of view from my unique academic background. Being scientifically educated, I tend to consider everything a system. And systems (like governments) are best managed by understanding statistical realities; i.e., do not react and take action based on individual events (like presidential elections), but only on trends of groups. It doesn’t matter to me what political party “seems” to be in charge as long as both are managing the system to optimize the community. Political parties will disagree, which is healthy because that is a useful check-and-balance. However, when one tries to shut down the other and its supporters by interfering with discussion and stifling debate, then the system starts to move in a random walk toward totalitarianism. That results in leaders like Hitler, Stalin, Castro, etc., meaning disagreement and questioning are punished—sometimes severely. Keep that in mind whenever students shout down a speaker, when university administrators censor curricula to force political correctness; and/or when the media reports only one side of a debate. The Democrats have been losing since 2010 because they have become a cadre of effete impudent snobs demonizing anyone who dares to offer a differing opinion. Their incessant name-calling has alienated half the country, and rendered words like, idiot, racist, etc. powerless. No one is paying attention. The lesson learned should be that a new playbook is required; one which engages others in debate and meaningful discussion. Persuasion is needed, not name-calling. So far, as the inauguration approaches, nothing has changed. If anything, the far left has ramped it up. The lesson of the past election has not been learned—yet. For the sake of optimizing the “system” I hope to see hatred for the incoming president and those who supported him abate, and be replaced with dialogue—not political rhetoric. It is in the best interest of the system; and therefore, all of us that the system is successful. However, given the predilection of the lemmings in our citizenry to check their brains at the door, and depend on social media to think for them, I am not optimistic. I know there are friends of mine who will shrilly proclaim that some (they use the absolute word, ALL) of the opposition gave Obama a bad time. (What did that solve?) Therefore, they say, they intend to hate and obstruct Trump—tit for tat. When did parental home training take a hike along to yield (almost) nationwide bad manners? If one wants to capture hearts and minds, it must be accomplished through meaningful and serious dialogue, not shouting, name-calling, and intimidation. I was taught that two wrongs (negatives) do not make a right—except in algebra of course. Your working boy, Eugene the Jeep. (The country is in dire straits when I am a voice of reason.)
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