Some Post-Election Thoughts

Dear Readers,

Well, the election is over.  The new president has been showing, and to the astonishment (and chagrin) of many, it is Donald J. Trump who has claimed victory.  I have spent a fair bit of time over the last year writing my thoughts on the election.  Those of you who have been following me consistently know that Mr. Trump was not my first (or even my fifteenth) choice for president, but for all that, the people have spoken.  I wanted to use this first political post after the election to address everyone… the people who are disappointed, the people who are thrilled, the people who are protesting, the pundits proclaiming the peril of the President-Elect’s “chaotic transition team.”  I am going to try to present a balanced alternative to the strident divisiveness that has fragmented my country (and frankly, the world).

DON’T PANIC!
Oftentimes, when the internet seems to be exploding with the next world ending political disaster, Douglas Adam’s comes to me speaking words of wisdom and comfort; “DON’T PANIC!” Anyone who loves science fiction and fantasy knows, to their deeply abiding comfort, that apocalypses come and go, and the world keeps spinning (more or less).  Yeah, things get hard for a time, but hard times end.  To quote Lord of The Rings, “Even darkness must pass, and when the sun shines out, it will shine all the clearer.”  The world is not going to end because one man, even a man as fallen and imperfect as Donald Trump, gets elected.  We have had good presidents and bad presidents, and one thing has remained consistent… America continues.  Each side believes that the election of the candidate they oppose will result in the destruction of our country, and each election they are proven wrong as presidents follow each other in the peaceful transfer of power, resulting in a diversity of governments and perspectives that provides a balance for our nation.

It is on this concept of the peaceful transition of power that I want to focus.  In my experience, the panic that ensues when the candidate of “the wrong party” gets elected has a way of highlighting the fractured values of our country.  Because whenever a liberal is elected, conservatives cry, “Woe is me… how can we stop our country from becoming a socialist dictatorship?” and every time a conservative is elected, liberals cry, “Woe is me! How can we stop our country from becoming a fascist dictatorship?”  What each side fails to recognize is the value that the other has to offer.  Liberalism is defined by a heart for the wellbeing of people; a desire to see people be treated fairly, equally, with respect, especially people who have been marginalized in the past.  As a conservative, I see the value of their perspective.  There needs to be well intentioned radicals pushing against those things in our society that we view as normal, but which are, in fact, oppressive.  BUT.  There is always a “but” here… conservatives have something to offer too.  Not all the institutions that exist need or deserve to be destroyed; indeed, some institutions perpetuate because they are necessary or beneficial.  The conservative’s job is to conserve… to preserve the status quo from total disruption in order to maintain those institutions deserving of continuation.  Both liberalism and conservatism have their function within society; both serve a critical role in maintaining the stability of the nation and allowing it to continue on a path of improvement.

It is this perspective of liberalism and conservatism as balancing forces that informs my perspective on President Elect Trump.  For the last eight years we have had policies informed by a liberal agenda.  As such, we have had radical changes in healthcare, in the legality of gay marriage and of marijuana, and in our foreign and domestic policy.  Those changes have been representative of a little over half the population of America, particularly those of the urban, coastal states.  However, the opinions of the more conservative, rural states (and parts of states) have been underrepresented in the last eight years.  Donald Trump’s election swings the pendulum back toward the other side of the spectrum.  It is a push back against recklessly radical policies that have endangered those institutions that conservatives value and believe are worth saving.  That being said, Donald Trump is, in many ways, a less radical option than many liberals would have people believe.  For many years, Trump was a Democrat.  He has been honored for his work promoting racial equality, and he has demonstrated a businessman’s acumen for choosing employees on the basis of their qualifications, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.  While traditional Republican candidates ascribe to Evangelical Christian values, and have a tendency to promote social and religious conservatism (e.g. pro-life, anti gay marriage), Trump ran on a policy of fiscal and governmental conservatism.  He did not win by saying he would overturn Roe V. Wade, but by claiming he would reform policies that were ineffective, that he would enforce the laws of the land (i.e. illegal immigration- it’s not about racism, its about legality), and that he would fight against the systemic corruption in the government.  In choosing Donald Trump, Americans were not gravitating toward the most radical conservative candidate, but toward the candidate that would not oppose many of the liberal reforms the previous administration made, but who would instead be able to create effective policies that WORK!  Donald Trump’s election is not America backsliding in to racist, misogynist, homophobic hysteria, but instead is America asking for effective policies; healthcare that works, enforcement of the laws of the land in regard to immigration, a tax code that is simple and promotes economic growth, more people working, and more people working full time jobs with benefits instead of working multiple part time jobs to barely stay afloat.  America looked at a successful businessman, a man who was not immersed in the systemic corruption of the established government, a man who was unafraid to promote fiscal and political conservatism, even under the threat of liberal backlash, and the American people decided that this was a healthy, balanced direction for the nation after eight years of liberal policies.

To Summarize
The world is not going to end because the pendulum swings from liberal to conservative and back again.  The new president deserves a chance to implement policy and see the consequences of those policies before we condemn him as incompetent.  In his cabinet, he has made choices that liberals do not like; that is his right as the president elect.  Conservatives were not happy with President Obama’s choices either… get over it! The sky is not falling, the world will continue to spin, and who knows? The choices the president elect has made might end up being brilliant, they might do a good job.  Give them, and the president elect a chance to succeed or fail on their own merits, not on the basis of conjecture, panic, or political self aggrandizing.

Well, back to reality!