For a Bit of Balance

[Some Schmo]

I went to a charity dinner event last week with some friends and it was a lovely evening of enjoying people's company and spending way too much on things in order to support the cause, the local symphony. One of the interesting takeaways from that evening was how many of my local citizens felt exactly about Trump and his voters as I do. I suppose it was the type of crowd the event attracted, but I met quite a few people who not only brought up the topic but spoke about it the same kind of plain terms as I do here.

I talk about this because I want to think about it. I want to focus on it. I have to remember there are millions of Americans like me who actually want the best for this country in spite of all those who seem to want the worst. It was the kind of event that reminded me why I first fell in love with living in the US, and I try not to get depressed over the fact that the good people of the US seem to be dwindling in number, or likely more accurately, Americans relied on the good reputation of a minority... until now.

Anyway, this is a little love letter to that minority. I really appreciate you.

[Gunnar]

I went to a charity dinner event last week with some friends and it was a lovely evening of enjoying people's company and spending way too much on things in order to support the cause, the local symphony. One of the interesting takeaways from that evening was how many of my local citizens felt exactly about Trump and his voters as I do. I suppose it was the type of crowd the event attracted, but I met quite a few people who not only brought up the topic but spoke about it the same kind of plain terms as I do here.

I talk about this because I want to think about it. I want to focus on it. I have to remember there are millions of Americans like me who actually want the best for this country in spite of all those who seem to want the worst. It was the kind of event that reminded me why I first fell in love with living in the US, and I try not to get depressed over the fact that the good people of the US seem to be dwindling in number, or likely more accurately, Americans relied on the good reputation of a minority... until now.

Anyway, this is a little love letter to that minority. I really appreciate you.

Thanks for that "bit of balance." I agree that there are millions and probably much more than a hundred million Americans who really want the best for our country. I especially reveled in that belief when we managed to elect our first Black President. I thought this was evidence that we had at last begun to really turn the corner away from racism and intolerance. But this was apparently too much to take for the most diehard bigots among us, and they immediately began, with the help of Trump, to try to reawaken and amplify the latent bigotry that still existed in too many of us, just enough to make possible the election of the pathologically dishonest, corrupt and dangerously divisive Donald Trump into office, who immediately revealed his racism by accusing Mexican immigrants of being criminals and rapists and banning Muslims from entering the country. He has worked ever since to further divide us against each other and further amplify that latent bigotry. Hilary Clinton may not have been the best possible choice for President, but I am convinced that we would be much better off now, as a country, if she had won instead of Trump.

[Some Schmo]

Hilary Clinton may not have been the best possible choice for President, but I am convinced that we would be much better off now, as a country, if she had won instead of Trump.

The counterfactual I keep thinking is that if Romney had won in 2012, Trump would never have entered politics because Romney would be up for reelection in 2016 and maybe the degradation of the GOP takes much longer rather than the nosedive it's taken this last decade.

I honestly think of the GOP's brand as Crazy/Stupid.