Sun is still in the sky
You may or may not have noticed that I have done basically zero election talk in here leading up to the election. The only election discussion I have really had was during the last 25% of the live stream on Sunday. I just have not felt like discussing the election, partially because I was already pretty confident of the outcome. The reality that was coming just wasn’t something I wanted to talk about.
Trump’s win was decisive, flipping several states that voted for Biden four years ago, most notably my old home state of Pennsylvania. He also won the popular vote which I think might wind up being the highest amount of votes ever received by a candidate. This was fueled by a good turnout as many people felt strongly one way or the other with it being described as a historic turning point, by both sides. So why do I think this has come to be, again?
From what I read with exit polling the number one factor to voters was the state of the economy. Despite democrats trying to point out that key economic indicators have been steadily improving the bottom line is everything costs more, much, much more than four years ago. Light thinking would simplify this down to Trump was president before and things cost less, so if he is president again things will magically cost less.
Of course the truth is much more complicated than that. The supply chain being choked off by covid started the snowball of price increases but then when that choke hold relaxed businesses decided to keep the status quo in prices, it was good for their bottom line. To me, thinking that a change of who is sitting in the White House is going to persuade businesses to lower prices is just foolish. Greed is good, after all.
Trump also won votes with his harsh status on immigration and the woke movement. Do I think illegal immigration should be allowed to flourish? Nope. Do I think some of the the things that have come out of the woke movement border on ridiculous? Yep. But in the end I think the high cost of living that we all have experienced the last four years was the biggest negative working against the democrats. Well that and that I think Biden and/or Kamala were far from the best candidate the party could have offered.
I have already received some text messages from friends on both sides of the coin, some feeling the world is coming to an end while others are joyous that the world can begin again. To me the outcome is much less impactful/important than it was in both 2016 and 2020. More and more my focus has turned inward towards things I can directly control/impact. Burning all sorts of energy in a tribe mentality war between opposing political factions is something that no longer serves me. Perhaps prosperity does truly await as a result of this election result but I’m certainly not counting on or expecting it.
Last night I made a concentrated effort on not watching election coverage. Around 8PM I hopped in my Tacoma and just went for an elongated drive masked as a stop at the gas station. When I got home I watched an episode of Penguin on HBO. It was only after that, probably 11PM or later that I flipped to the ongoing results broadcasts. Even though the race had not been called at that point it seemed pretty clear to me the way things were heading as I turned it off and fell asleep. I will continue to focus my efforts on being a solid human being that exhibits kindness, personal responsibility, thoughtfulness, and empathy, regardless of the political party calling the shots. My life can be good all the same.