As I walk my large, lazy hound through Wauwatosa, I'm fiendishly running through my podcasts (Planet Money,The Economist Radio, Boers and Bernstein, etc.) trying to consume the post-election coverage. I know the outcome and have a fairly good grasp of why the outcome occurred. I feel that listening to the analysis and cultural fallout is my way of facing up to the election and hopefully moving on. A poor man's cognitive behavioral therapy, I suppose. But it's working.
Yesterday as I walked my large lazy hound, I saw torn pieces of a Clinton-Kaine sign in a cluster of dried up leaves against a curb. As the evening sunset bled cooly on this site, the obvious metaphor stabbed me squarely. I wondered if a frustrated supporter had ripped up the sign in a fit of anger. Or perhaps a gleeful opponent had absconded and mutilated the little cardboard rectangle. I walked quickly away yesterday, focused on taking in the sun and my masochistic podcasts.
This afternoon, the dismembered sign remained, and I could not walk past again. I gathered the pieces and found the nearest recycling bin -- my instinct was to be done with the matter quickly. But just before dumping the sign, I felt compelled to snap a photo of this newest entry into the ashbin of history. Self-torture? Motivation? Confusion? All of the above.
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More than anything else, I think the image will remind me that nothing's free, nothing's guaranteed and that dwelling on the past is at the expense of the future.
But it also reminds me that learning from the past is the key to the future. President-elect Trump said anything and everything, and citizens voted for him despite this. The outrage factor got whomped by the fear factor. Future candidates who stand for human rights better bring the whole package: economic policy, relatable platform, communications skills and likeability. This doesn't mean white and male, but it does mean no baggage and as little compromise as possible. As someone who will always advocate for the the candidate of social justice, I have learned forever that "my candidate is not the devil" won't be effective at the dinner table, on the playground or at the water cooler. "How could anybody vote for him?" is a waste of thought and breath. The electorate wants a plan, not a morality play.
Yesterday as I walked my large lazy hound, I saw torn pieces of a Clinton-Kaine sign in a cluster of dried up leaves against a curb. As the evening sunset bled cooly on this site, the obvious metaphor stabbed me squarely. I wondered if a frustrated supporter had ripped up the sign in a fit of anger. Or perhaps a gleeful opponent had absconded and mutilated the little cardboard rectangle. I walked quickly away yesterday, focused on taking in the sun and my masochistic podcasts.
This afternoon, the dismembered sign remained, and I could not walk past again. I gathered the pieces and found the nearest recycling bin -- my instinct was to be done with the matter quickly. But just before dumping the sign, I felt compelled to snap a photo of this newest entry into the ashbin of history. Self-torture? Motivation? Confusion? All of the above.
More than anything else, I think the image will remind me that nothing's free, nothing's guaranteed and that dwelling on the past is at the expense of the future.
But it also reminds me that learning from the past is the key to the future. President-elect Trump said anything and everything, and citizens voted for him despite this. The outrage factor got whomped by the fear factor. Future candidates who stand for human rights better bring the whole package: economic policy, relatable platform, communications skills and likeability. This doesn't mean white and male, but it does mean no baggage and as little compromise as possible. As someone who will always advocate for the the candidate of social justice, I have learned forever that "my candidate is not the devil" won't be effective at the dinner table, on the playground or at the water cooler. "How could anybody vote for him?" is a waste of thought and breath. The electorate wants a plan, not a morality play.