Sore Losers and Winners

I have lain dormant for the past few months, partly due to personal issues regarding my job last year and partly due to lack of something substantial to say, but the silence has to be broken at some point, and I refuse to break it in the form of some whiny FB post that feeds into the drama dividing Americans in the first place.

This post could drone on; however, I want to point out a few of my own observations in short; observations that aren't really soliciting response but, instead, just need to get out there for my own sanity and for the safety of my social media feed.

• All politicians lie. Yep. If you didn't vote for a candidate based on his/her propensity for lying, you're lying to yourself in thinking you voted for one who doesn't. 

• Jack Nicholson said it best when he screamed, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" Americans are horrible about demanding the truth and then even worse about sorely licking their wounds when they get it. Regardless of my own leanings, I'll say that Trump has been more forward with his opinions (sometimes to his detriment), thus pissing off everyone who loves a good sugar coating of serious issues. You don't have to agree, but at least acknowledge the balls required to say some of what's been said out loud. Most of you don't have the set to speak up for your own trivial issues because you fear what people think. He put it all out there and left it up to the people to decide if it was bad enough to make them reconsider his policy.

• Not one debate focused solely on policy. Both candidates did piss poor jobs sticking to the script and being respectful. Despite the outcome, one has to work with and abide by the policy of the other. Debates are for disagreements and pitching arguments; they aren't meant to be shit shows full of name calling and blatant personal attacks. 

• The media has skewed EVERYTHING regarding this election, and they'll continue to do it as long as we are ignorant enough to buy into the hype. Had today's news sources existed decades ago, people would have made different choices in candidates as well. As a matter of fact, JFK persuaded Nixon to participate in televised events, and it worked in his favor. Statistics over the last several decades show that voters often make decisions less on policy and more on superficial factors like age, health and overall aesthetic. The fact that several late night shows took policy from each candidate and pitched it to voters on the "other side" to prove people don't know their candidate's policy should show us how ignorant and sheepish we are to make decisions based on media depictions. The media is "guiding" us and poking fun at gullibility. 

• Neither candidate loves all or hates all of certain portions of the population. Trump wants to hyper regulate immigration while Hillary claims we should let everyone into America. Trump makes sexual comments about women while Hillary advocates women's rights and has more of a platform on the sole fact that she is a woman as opposed to any policy she's presented on the issue. Trump is a rich businessman who gets a bad wrap for a million dollar loan his father handed over once upon a time, and Hillary is a rich politician who throws around just as much money and not always for good. So, you're mad because the one you didn't vote for is rich and misuses money and rips people off...yeah, they both do.

Many Hillary voters should be ashamed of themselves for having such poor attitudes toward the loss, and an equal number of Trump voters should be ashamed of themselves for reveling in their defeat. At the end of the day, we are all Americans. We are not Democrats, Republicans, Independents or any other party title; we are people who should be living and working together for common good and for the improvement of our county. On a regular day, most don't give a rat's behind with which ticket people more closely align, and it shouldn't be any different in election times. People will always thrive; people will always struggle; and no one is 100% on either ticket (surprise surprise...we all have a little of both going for us). 

Either way, there's good and bad. I could spend hours listing the deficiencies of each candidate; however, I'm under the impression that a president has been elected, and as an American, I have an obligation to act with respect and dignity and not let myself stoop so low as I've seen others stoop in public forum. Burning American flags, skipping the country, wallowing in the triumphs and/or sorrows of self and others -- these are all embarrassingly ignorant displays of American spirit. Until party lines are blurred and people start working together to improve various aspects of our county, we will continue to bitch and moan, ultimately causing our own division and accomplishing nothing.