The Day After

In 1976 my family was living in England while my father did an overseas assignment for Price Waterhouse, and generally speaking, it was great. We did an astounding amount of travel through Europe, usually in our overloaded Ford station wagon. We even got to take a VERY rare & hard to get one week trip to Russia (remember, this was the mid 70's, the height of the Cold War). Our parents wanted us to absorb as much of the culture as possible, so we visited every museum, castle, and scenic overlook in the UK. We even went to English Schools, and while my academic record suffered from that point forward, we were incredibly fortunate to have that opportunity. I'm convinced that it became the bedrock foundation of my having a wider view of the world. One of my earliest political memories is from November of that year, the first US election I was really aware of. The morning after, I was getting ready for school, and my Dad was watching the TV, wiping away tears. Jimmy Carter had just been elected.

I was 9 years old, and my father didn't really know what to say to me. I think it was a time of reckoning for Republicans. Watergate had left the entire Nation stunned, and while Gerald Ford pardoning Nixon had left a bad taste in the mouth, the Republicans still believed in their party. Their cause was worthy, Nixon had just been overzealous; and Ford was a loyal soldier. But when Jimmy Carter got elected, it was the entire Nation throwing it back in their face.

Today I watched the TV, and like many Americans I was dumfounded.

Speechless.

I honestly don't know what to say, and I have no idea how we got here. Sure, we can all say that the GOP isn't the party of Ronald Regan anymore (I always joke that I didn't leave the Republican Party, they left me); and the Heritage Foundation, once a true bastion of great thought & discourse is now just the Tea Party watchdog, funded by the Koch Brothers. The Tea Party poisoned the GOP, and in a TWO YEAR primary battle, the very best that this wild pack of retards could come up with was Donald Trump.

Shame on us.

Too many people today are saying how great it is that this will redefine the GOP and that NOW things will change. They are blithely accepting his racism, his misogyny, and his megalomania. He is an intellectual mediocrity, a xenophobe, and is (at best) morally ambiguous. He has no background, training, or preparation for this job we just handed him.

It's the hate that he spews that frightens me. More than that, it's the way his supporters embrace it. Middle aged white men came out in record numbers. They are calling it "White lash". Undereducated middleclass white men, afraid of women, minorities, foreigners, LBGT's, and the disabled. Fear & Loathing drove them to the polls, and Hatred won.

I have a very deep seated fear of this new groundswell, these people who like trump because "he says what everyone's thinking". No, not everyone is a fearful, racist misogynist. But now we know YOU ARE. Yes, those of you who voted for Trump, voted for Hate. Say all you want about changing things in DC – THAT IS BULLSHIT.

You just voted for hate.

Like my father before me, I don't know what to say to my kids. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go to my 8 year old step daughter's school for a Veteran's Day celebration where they ask us to stand up so they can thank us for serving. I served for many reasons, and while most of them were self-serving, we were taught that we were defending America & her Constitution. We were, in a way, defending the rights of those who disagree with us. We defend the rights of those who burn the flag. We defend the rights of those who disparage America & all she stands for. I was proud to serve, and I did it willingly.

…but today, I'm ashamed. We elected someone who has disrespected and insulted Veterans, POW's, and Gold Star Families. He espouses Hate.

"But Hillary is a liar and she's awful" they say. Disagree with me all you want. I'll fight to the death to defend your right to do so. Good & intelligent discourse is the forge upon which we hammer out our democracy.

…but you chose Hatred.