(Standard cut and paste disclaimer I apparently must affix to any political post to avoid being swamped by rude, illogical, emotional and threatening assaults from people too stupid to understand that to disagree with X does not mean one is promoting Y. Z is always an option.)
For my friends who are terrified and distraught by the outcome of this election I would make a few points.
You are now coming to the close of 2 terms of a president you voted for whom more than half the population didn't feel represented them, you were aghast at many people's reaction to the actions of this president and told them they had a duty to support a democratically elected president. Now the tables have turned and the shoe is on the other (freakishly small) foot. Perhaps, just perhaps, you might, for a moment, grasp the concept that democracy is mob rule, that it's only advantage is that it substitutes symbolic violence for actual, physical violence. Instead of villagers with torches and pitchforks at your door demanding you follow their ideals or else (at which point a giant, bald man dressed like a blacksmith with ample access to flour sacks for his wardrobe holds aloft a coarse hemp rope knotted for a lynchin'), you get an endless avalanche of junk mail claiming you are morally obligated to vote for AND against every indistinctly worded, whining proposition that a group of frustrated city officials can squeeze out. Then the two parties parade out their selection genetic mishaps and sociopathic monsters like the galaxy's most horrible beauty contest. You are then beaten senseless by the state-owned media with the continuos repetition of their slogans of, "It's a two party system, stupid", "A vote for Kang
Is a vote for Kodos" and "Your vote counts (although, thanks to the electoral college and gerrymandering it actually doesn't) unless you are voting for a third party candidate in which case, due to political witchcraft, you are throwing away your vote." Elections, like sporting events, allow the fanged, meat eating ape that exists at a genetic level of each human to express their territorial rage against other fanged, meat eating apes without constant flesh rending and poop throwing. Unlike sports, elections seek to modify the freedoms and rights of others. I have a dream, and in this dream, we humans make the enormous evolutionary leap to understand this mechanism and come to the conclusion that ANY form of initiation of force against another sapient is ethically and morally wrong, that any time you take any action to modify or obstruct another from actions or behaviors that do not directly infringe on your rights, that do not damage you physically or financially, you are initiating force. This concept can be difficult to actually process for many people, and one of the major obstacles seems to be what I call, "the Soft-Hearted Tyrant". What causes much of the most virulent and violent attacks against me is my attitude of ethical responsibility. Just in this latest election cycle I have been informed by multiple friends that my dislike of Mrs Clinton and my refusal to support her candidacy means that again, through some form of political Voodoo, I am therefore against the poor, LBGTQA, minorities, religious factions and pretty much every other group one could be accused of oppressing. Anyone with even the most ethereal and minimal of relationships with me would, upon consideration, realize the utter stupidity of this position. I do not hate anyone on the basis of sex, religion, orientation, race or nation of origin, I hate everybody equally until they give me reason to decrease that hate, think of me as an equal opportunity offender. My system of judgement is based on a very limited litmus test, how willing are you to acknowledge my inherent freedoms and how do your actions relate to your message. If you proclaim compassion and kindness to those less fortunate to you, that is a wonderful message, but if your solution to the problems give you the impression that you have the right to take my money to accomplish your goals, you are a selfish, duplicitous thief and should be ashamed of your self. If you preach a belief in a religious sect, but show distain or outright hostility to other faiths, you are a fanatic and should be disregarded at best and actively discouraged at worst. If you propagate love but seek to oppress or punish others whose expression of love differs from yours, you should be viewed as reprehensible and shunned.
When you are so frustrated that your party failed (quite spectacularly), perhaps instead of lashing out, casting aspersions and name calling you might reconsider your message and intent, believe me, I am not part of the majority in this environment and understand the vexation when others do not embrace the values you feel are moral, ethical and self evident. This election should open eyes for those in both parties as well as those of us who are political non-Euclideans. As the saying goes, the people have spoken, and by your own rules, the majority is right (might = right) and you are now bound to put your head down in defeat and seek to work within the bounds of your system, biding your time until the next election when the whole circus starts again. Perhaps by then, your party will have modified there message to appeal to the majority and maybe (I can hope) some of you will actually grasp the message I intend to spread, which is what I call my 1 commandment (way easier than 10 and I you can eat pork): THOU SHALT NOT BE A DICK!!! Pretty easy to write, slightly harder to practice. I have spent the last 4 decades trying to embody it and I still fail on a regular basis. If you see someone who is hungry, and you can help him, don't be a dick, help him. If someone embraces a lifestyle different from yours but it concerns consenting adults, then remember that it is none of your damn business, don't be a dick. If you find this commandment too restrictive or incomprehensible, then at least do yourself a favor, consider the possibility that, at least some of the values you profess are not as overwhelmingly universal or ethically concise as you might like to believe.
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