Not With A Bang, But A Whimper

Election day is here. I don’t feel ashamed to admit I’ve felt a sense of impending doom all day. The last four years have been a special kind of hell, watching as a fool and petty tyrant tries to build an empire, supported by stooges who will praise anything he does as long as he pushes their agenda and lines their pockets. The amusing part of the entire ordeal has been watching as people for whom he has no respect sing his praises as he robs them blind. 

It’s difficult not to be cynical when so many people have shown their true colors throughout the 4 years Trump has been in office. White Supremacists  have felt emboldened to remove their sheets and show their faces. Some people seem to support the imprisonment of people who fled here seeking asylum from corrupt systems, only to run into one that is equally corrupt and morally bankrupt. 

Before you get horribly offended (although if you are I can’t say I care, you need to do some soul searching), I am not of the opinion that all of his supporters are nitwits, racists, or fascists. Yes I have friends who are Trump supporters, and yes I love them anyway, although I do give them large doses of side-eye. I can fully see how we got to this place.

From the day we are old enough to start school, we are fed by our culture the lie of equality. We are told that we are in a land of opportunity, you can do anything or be anything, hard work, and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps will get you that second bathroom, and a pool. This is not true of course, and some of us learn that lesson extremely early. It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are if you can’t afford to go to the right schools, who cares about your talent if you don’t have the right contacts. How can you pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you can’t afford boots, or if you aren’t allowed in the store that sells them?

To face the truth; that the system is actually stacked against certain people, that you are not a temporarily embarrassed millionaire, you are just another cog in the wheel that keeps money rolling into the pockets of the privileged few, is to admit that we have been lied to. It’s easier to follow the man with the snake oil, the one who makes promises he is incapable of keeping, who gives you someone to blame other than reality. 

Believe it or not, I am not a cynic. I am an optimist, tempered by realism. I voted, hoping to turn the tide. Is my party of choice part of the same system I just ranted about? Of course. But I will always vote for the party that values education and science, the one made up of people who are actually trying to make things more equitable.

I have high hopes for humanity, and I do think there is a way for us to meet on more equal footing. I just hope humanity is out voting today. 

These are just my thoughts. Feel free to disagree with me. After all both of my parents, and my grandfathers served in the military to protect our rights to argue with strangers on the internet.

Until next time, may your Early Grey stay hot.