This year, we are faced with a political election like we have not seen in our lifetime. We are facing an election where 60% of the American public do not want either candidate and over 30% even in each candidate’s own party are not only not satisfied with their own candidate, do not plan to vote for that candidate.
But that’s not the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
This year we are given two choices, a corrupt New York Liberal in the pockets of the Saudis, Soros, and the Chinese versus a corrupt New York Liberal in the pockets of the Saudis, Soros, and the Russians.
But that’s not the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
This year, the concept and statements of voting for our values, the Constitution, and conscience is booed and mocked, not just in the underbelly of the internet but on the floor of the Republican National Convention.
But that’s not the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
On this very forum, if we do not fall in line behind a candidate who our conscience and values scream to avoid, we are told we are ‘clueless’ and ‘idiots’ who have no voice.
But that’s not the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
One thing I have seen though, is how the American people react when we are told to ‘shut up’, can’t do something, have to comply, or told our mission is impossible. One thing the American people never do is give up. Statements like that have always caused us to double down and overcome. Our country was founded in no small part on the American people being told we have no voice.
We are not idiots, we know that the stats are against us. We know that the probability of Trump or Hillary not winning is in the neighborhood of 7% (that’s the percent that one of the two major candidates did not win the general election). But that doesn’t mean we should just sacrifice our values because we are told the odds are against us. Heck, we are members, or recent members, of a political party founded on worse odds, when we were told that we had to choose between Breckinridge or Douglas even though our values said no- and so did we- we chose our values (abolition at the time) and chose Lincoln.
So please, do keep telling us that we can’t do something. Please keep telling us our task is impossible, and please keep telling us we have no say. That only serves to empower us like those words have empowered Americans before us.
And as for the saddest thing I’ve ever seen, well it sure wasn’t people simply disagreeing on politics. No, the saddest thing I’ve ever seen was a man walking across the country to raise awareness of homeless veterans being thrown out of a town because some people in the town thought he was homeless and felt uncomfortable with him walking through their town.
