I am writing this immediately after awakening on Wednesday morning.
I am sad.
Not about the results. As a political agnostic, I’m going to work as I do every day. There won’t be any major changes. I’ll listen, exam, teach, ablate and implant evidence-based devices. Perhaps in the coming months, the 10-minute procedure will require 6 signed and dated forms instead of 5.
Here’s what I am really sad about:
As a college-educated white male, it bothers me that I voted in a separate block from my wife, and Black and Latino voters. Why should there be such divisions?
A better America would be one where John Mandrola votes for the same person that women, Blacks and Latinos vote for. I’m not a Pollyanna; I realize there will be differences, but it’s awful that we are this divided. I don’t feel divided from my Black and Latino and women patients. I’m just a doctor doing my best each day to help patients through medical problems, regardless of their skin color or gender.
This seems obvious now:
White men are no longer in charge. This is good for America. If Republicans want to implement their vision, they will need to start understanding this fact and act accordingly. I hope they do, because many of their ideas are good ones.
Let’s conclude with some heart-healthy optimism:
To those who worry that we are heading towards a European state of existence, I say worry not. Europe is a pretty awesome place. We could do a lot worse.
JMM
7 replies on “Post Election Blues”
Regardless of one’s political beliefs – there is no justification for the political gridlock that paralyzed the country from Day #1 of Obama’s first election. There is no justification when pacts are taken to vote “against the other side” simply so that 4 years later the “other person” will no longer be in office. There has got to be compromise.
Those who we elect to lead us need to do the “right thing” regardless of the politics involved. Until such time that this is acknowledged and acted on by both sides – the divisions you describe in how Whites – Blacks – Men – Women – Latinos – and others vote will remain ….
I hear you Ken. History helps, right? Perhaps politics has always been this contentious? That doesn’t mean we should accept gridlock. Rather, we, as a people, benefit from the principles of moderation, cooperation and mutual respect. This is what I hope for.
…And that some of my tax dollars go to improve human-powered transportation.
I too am sad, but I see a different kind of divide. The divide I see is between people who want free stuff and the people who are being required to pay for it.
Absent anyone who wants to pay for the government services they want, both parties have decided to charge their desires to the not yet eligable to voters of the next generation.
Thanks mom and dad.
Reportedly, the proportion of tax dollars spent to tax dollars collected is higher in rural red states than urban blue states. There may be perfectly rational and just reasons for this. Still, those who blame all our problems on “people who want stuff” almost never seem to be envisioning a white rancher who assumes that the government should pay to build and maintain a paved road from somewhere near his property to the next city with plenty of shopping and health care. We ALL, or at least 99.9% of us, “want stuff”, just like as 99.9% of us voluntarily make some contribution to climate change. My humble opinion is that we are entering an era of limits and need to (but probably won’t) have a hard conversation about needs and wants. But it would have to be an honest conversation, not one based on the assumption that only dominant groups have legitimate needs.
Shut up and keep clicking.
Jay
Grin!
I think the problem is of social, not political root.
Diversity in our country is a double edged sword. It can bring people together but then it can tear as apart. We want to be part of the great America- the country that inspired autonomy and democracy around the world, the country that put the first man on the moon, the country that created so many idiols and movements. Yet, each of us wants to preserve our diversity and be proud of our own hertiage.
The fact that we can’t show unity in the most important democratic traditions of our country and even our own government can’t agree to accept each others difference-is something we really need to be sad about.