I am not happy that Trump is President. At the same time, I don't necessarily feel that Hillary's loss is a sign that democracy is a loss.
I already discussed how rigged the system was in the first place. That social contract is fraying. We're losing our democracy.
Although there are academic studies that explore this, I think there's an even better example. Just consider marijuana. 61% of Americans think it should be legal. To give you some perspective, about 59% think abortion should be legal. 62% think the government should ensure access to healthcare.
Marijuana legalization has more support than healthcare and abortion. When we had a townhall meeting on the topic, people came out in droves.
And in this last election?
...
...
Crickets.
What we, the average American, care about is not reflected by our politics.
Too much of this, and whoever gets elected to office will lack legitimacy. After all, they'll be elected by the wealthy. Not us.
I get why Trump appealed to so many Americans. I mean, I think he's a con artist who couldn't possibly deliver on what he promised. He's an arrogant blowhard who can't control his emotions, has no class, is crass and rude and loves being so.
But Americans were so starved that they went for him anyway. I know conservatives have made a thing about the 'out of touch, arrogant liberal elite'...I think Trump's win shows the same accusations can be applied to themselves.
Hillary, btw, played into that narrative all too well. I'm not sure how much room she had to gain new supporters, as I said before she has a long political history and most people already have an opinion about her. What I do know, though, is that Madeline Albright's comments seemed remarkably tone deaf and alienating for someone who wasn't already a Clinton supporter. My instinctive reaction is "Yes, mother. Whatever you say, mother. I will support her just because her genitals happen to be shaped like mine. Even though I don't think she has the character I hope for in a president, and I think she showed poor judgment - most recently for how she handled the e-mail scandal - but sure, I'll vote for her because she's a woman like me." *sarcasm* *eye-roll*.
That might not have been Hillary saying that, btw, but far too many of her supporters failed to see the problem.
Most Americans might not know what the 'right' answer is to the complex problems of today. They don't necessarily know what tax policy or federal reserve rate we need, or what sort of regulations should be placed on banks. Don't necessarily know whether charter schools are the way to go or not.
We just know that we've been screaming "Fix it!" for at least a decade. And nobody is fixing a damn thing.
I already discussed how rigged the system was in the first place. That social contract is fraying. We're losing our democracy.
Although there are academic studies that explore this, I think there's an even better example. Just consider marijuana. 61% of Americans think it should be legal. To give you some perspective, about 59% think abortion should be legal. 62% think the government should ensure access to healthcare.
Marijuana legalization has more support than healthcare and abortion. When we had a townhall meeting on the topic, people came out in droves.
And in this last election?
...
...
Crickets.
What we, the average American, care about is not reflected by our politics.
Too much of this, and whoever gets elected to office will lack legitimacy. After all, they'll be elected by the wealthy. Not us.
I get why Trump appealed to so many Americans. I mean, I think he's a con artist who couldn't possibly deliver on what he promised. He's an arrogant blowhard who can't control his emotions, has no class, is crass and rude and loves being so.
But Americans were so starved that they went for him anyway. I know conservatives have made a thing about the 'out of touch, arrogant liberal elite'...I think Trump's win shows the same accusations can be applied to themselves.
Hillary, btw, played into that narrative all too well. I'm not sure how much room she had to gain new supporters, as I said before she has a long political history and most people already have an opinion about her. What I do know, though, is that Madeline Albright's comments seemed remarkably tone deaf and alienating for someone who wasn't already a Clinton supporter. My instinctive reaction is "Yes, mother. Whatever you say, mother. I will support her just because her genitals happen to be shaped like mine. Even though I don't think she has the character I hope for in a president, and I think she showed poor judgment - most recently for how she handled the e-mail scandal - but sure, I'll vote for her because she's a woman like me." *sarcasm* *eye-roll*.
That might not have been Hillary saying that, btw, but far too many of her supporters failed to see the problem.
Most Americans might not know what the 'right' answer is to the complex problems of today. They don't necessarily know what tax policy or federal reserve rate we need, or what sort of regulations should be placed on banks. Don't necessarily know whether charter schools are the way to go or not.
We just know that we've been screaming "Fix it!" for at least a decade. And nobody is fixing a damn thing.
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