Wednesday, November 9, 2016

This is Your Shot...


Stepping outside this morning, the sky was cloudy and grey. It reflected how I felt about the conclusion of the 2016 election, and I was glad the universe agreed with my gloom.

Trump has won. Apparently, not even his own campaign saw it coming. 

How did this happen? A difference in demographics in voter turnout than the pollsters predicted?


Are there really that many in the 'silent majority'? That many disaffected white men with nostalgia, to paraphrase Ana Marie Cox from The Daily Show last night.

I don’t know. 

Living in a historically blue state that has recovered relatively well from the recession, I suddenly feel this burning desire to take a trip to a historically red state and ask the people there to have a long political discussion with me.

Not the extremists, but a crowd of regular Joes. 

I will probably cringe and get angry, but I really want to know: what is your situation and how did the previous administration fail you? Who are you really - not the quote on the Internet, or the statistic on the webpage.

What is it you want from the Trump administration?

Because I cannot believe racism and bigotry are the whole picture. 

Maybe some whites feel odd about being the future minority in the U.S. - maybe some don’t. 

Maybe your religious beliefs prevent you from accepting your fellow LGBTQ+ community members. Maybe you believe more strongly in adoption than abortion. 

Maybe you just want to be able to get a full-time job with benefits. 

I know I do. I know this student at UNC Charlotte did. We could be the same person in this one aspect of our values.  

Does the economy have to be roses before we can affect social change?

I don’t know who this 'silent majority' is – they haven’t spoken up until now. Whether because they felt comfortable with their lot as the prevalent majority until recently or because they felt disenfranchised remains to be discovered.

The Republicans have the trifecta of Senate, Congress and Executive Branch. The only thing left is the Supreme Court with its one open seat.

This is your shot. Take it. Gun pun very much intended.

If this red administration manages to cock up the next four years and still blame it on the noisy liberal Democrats, I will be very impressed. 

As a liberal, I plan to make sure they have at least a little something to gripe about – I will not be part of the next silent majority. Hillary won the popular vote and this is our country, too. 

(And visas can take a while, dammit.)

4 comments:

  1. "I don’t know who this 'silent majority' is – they haven’t spoken up until now."
    Clearly, you haven't been paying attention to the Tea Party. Or what has been going on in the North Carolina state house. Or spent much time watching Fox News.

    "Senate, Congress and Executive Branch."
    Brief civics lesson: Congress is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Aka the Legislative Branch.

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    1. Ooof! You're right - that should be House of Representatives. I totally missed that reading it over.

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    2. I have noticed that there isn't necessarily a "silent majority" by definition, but correct me if I'm wrong, I believe that Dodger Blue meant by the "silent majority" was that there are people who stay silent during polls and don't disclose their full views to the pollsters.

      I myself try and keep to date with as much news information as possible, especially this past year, and yes the Tea Party is a bit out of hand but we live in a country where political correctness has become a virtue almost. With that being said some people (hence the "silent majority" that Dodger Blue refers to) must somehow feel it is not politically correct to discuss political affairs like who they're voting for. This maybe a little out of date but by looking at the fact that Trump won, it may be not as out of date as some liberals and progressives perceive it to be.

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    3. Just compare the ~8% who said they were voting for third-party candidate, as opposed to the ~1% who actually did...

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