So, today is November 7, 2020, and it appears that Joe Biden has won the election that will make him President of the United States on 1/20/2021.
Yes, I'm aware that there will be lawsuits and recounts and all of this. I think one thing Americans have to consider is that certain dedicated Intelligence Bureaus (FBI) and Military Forces (think Cybercom) have been monitoring this election and its legality far more closely than they watched 2016.
Nobody wants there to be cause for questioning who our President is.
There has been too much of that already, going back to 1960, when Nixon won the popular vote, and then 2000, when it was craziness, and 2016, when there may or may not have been election tampering (voting, no; misinforming Americans, yes).
So while I might not believe all media in all things...I do believe that the FBI and the military have been working for the American people.
I will remind those of you reading that I was raised in a staunchly Republican house with ideas about personal liberty...and personal responsibility, the flip side of that coin (at least in the Hiler household). Those ideas came with some virtues attached, and I was raised by my mother. A more virtuous human you may never find. So I'm pretty comfortable saying I understand what they are.
And I am going to exhort everyone--EVERYONE--to start using those virtues today.
Civility. Respect. Remaining calm. Choosing decency.
These were things I've had to do in the past when my candidate didn't win. I didn't particularly like Bill Clinton in one of the elections he was in for personal reasons. And I learned a lot about respect from Mr. Clinton. One of the things about it is that you do not have to agree with everything a person does to respect at least something that person does. I wouldn't have trusted him alone with my mother, for crying out loud, but I would have absolutely trusted him to make good judgments about free trade on the American continent.
From President Clinton, I learned what it means to respect the Office of the President and the person within it. I truly believe that, as far as the job is concerned, Bill Clinton made a good effort to do the job well for the American people. His personal life? Oh, he managed to mess that up good and proper during his tenure. But I must tell you that as an American, I'd rather he didn't screw the country over. He didn't.
My father told me back in September the following: "I can't believe I've got to pull the lever for Biden". When I asked what changed (he voted for Trump in 2016), he said, "Trump's gone completely nuts. And I don't think he has a shred of human decency left in him."
Let me tell you: when my father is talking about basic human decency as being a reason not to vote for a guy? Mr. Shoot-First-and-Ask-Questions-Later? That's a good time to reconsider why you support this dude.
I know some of the reasons why some people support Republicanism. For instance, the idea that...no, really...we should have a smaller Federal Government and a larger State Government. You know, the actual ideal of Republicanism?!?!? Back before it was conflated with Conservatism, which is not the same thing. Back when personal liberty meant that Republicans were supporting African-Americans in their rights? Go and look. I'll wait. Yes, freaking really, they voted more for civil rights in the 1950s than Democrats.
Now, Republican v. Democrat has no ring for me whatsoever. Because one party appears to have the monopoly on promising personal liberty, while the other party appears to be actually helping people achieve personal liberty.
And these parties are no longer a functional look at who we are as a people.
Schwarzenegger recently put up a video in which he stated that he believes the government should not guarantee outcomes for all lives of all people. Honestly, that's what communism promised and could never achieve due to human nature. But Arnold also said government can guarantee that we start from the same place--such as the right to a decent education. That's a way to help everyone achieve personal liberty. And that is also something that I think speaks to basic human decency, helping everyone start at the same place.
My mother would have loved him for that.
Look. The world is a mixed-up place. I am having a very difficult time navigating it right now because I'm in mourning. There is no other way to describe it other than to say: I'm sad a lot and yes, I'm sure my antidepressants are working.
Whomever you voted for in 2016 or 2020, whomever you voted to be chief dogcatcher of the Hamlet of Arthur in Oswego County, I am going to call on you now to show your basic human decency to each other. It's not about your guy. Neither candidate should ever have been a cult of personality, and quite frankly neither party should have become one, either.
We need to come together as Americans. President-Elect Biden is planning a bipartisan cabinet. Scoff all you want, but this guy wants people to work together. He's choosing the person, not the party.
Maybe we should, too.
