One of the hardest lessons for me to learn and accept as an adult is that bad things often happen to good people. Cancer and death will take away from us some of the best among us. The good guy does not always win the gun battle, or even in the movies anymore, and most certainly the better candidates do not always win elections.
President Donald J. Trump influenced probably somewhere in excess of 100 million votes — 70 million Americans voting for him, and probably half of Joe Biden supporters voting against him. Vice-President Joe Biden’s margin of victory is however growing increasingly clear, in both the popular vote and in the Electoral College.
I am not going to kick or pile onto this president, but I cannot pass on pointing out that part of the reason that the Biden margins are so massive among mail-in ballots is that this same president spent weeks warning the nation of slowdowns and deficiencies of the U.S. Postal Service, while simultaneously urging his supporters to vote in-person and on Election Day.
But in each presidential election season, there is a victor, and more often than not gracious opponents who concede. When the battle was over Florida in 2000, and the U.S. Supreme Court decided that election in favor of then-Texas Governor, George W. Bush, then Vice-President Al Gore also did not concede. I covered that inauguration. It was a particularly chilly brunch that morning at the White House, and while a blizzard blanketed Washington, D.C., the heat in the eyes of Gore aimed at his opponent was well in evidence on the inauguration stage. But Gore maintained his composure, seated nearby while Bush took the oath of office, and following that peaceful transition of power, America went on to live another day and would soon face the much greater challenge of 9/11. We will weather this stressful transition as well.
President Trump, the campaign, his lawyers, and supporters should rightfully ask for recounts where they are called for, and every legally cast ballot should be tabulated. History, as well as the candidates themselves, deserve a full, complete, and accurate tally. Any instances of voter fraud, which can be documented or are in evidence, should be investigated, ferreted out, and prosecuted. But again, to create thousands of ballots in multiple states simultaneously does not occur during tabulation. If there was a crime, it would have occurred as those ballots were being cast. And again, in this case, it would have been required on such a scale to rival the complexities of the casino take-down plots of Ocean’s 8, 11, 12, and 13. If the White House or Trump campaign has such evidence or proof, bring it forward and soon.
But for our nation to heal and get past this intact, even more important than the ego of any candidate, we need to understand that prying loose or letting go of deeply held passions or beliefs may cause a bit of bruising or even leave a scar. And no scab ever heals well if you constantly pick at it.
We get the field of candidates we are willing to accept, via a party primary system which the majority of voters routinely choose not to participate in. And a positive place to channel your disappointment or unhappiness with these most recent results is into the campaigns of the next election, and in Georgia we will have two of those soon, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, and then again on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
In Georgia, we have the special challenge and privilege to likely decide the balance of power and majority in our U.S. Senate. So, despite the worst of charges and counter-charges which we know the respective campaigns may throw at us, let’s review the offerings, platforms, and priorities of each candidate, and make our choices and voices heard accordingly.
We after all only get the leadership that we allow the process to cull for us. And if you don’t want to accept that outcome the next time, here is another positive way to start channeling your energy now, towards the coming runoff elections, and then on to 2022 and beyond. Freedom does not come free, and neither does finding, nominating, selecting, and electing strong leaders to help move our nation as well as our states and communities forward. Congratulations to President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, and God bless the United States of America.
November 10, 2020 at 12:00PM
https://thebrunswicknews.com/accepting-outcomes-isnt-easy-to-do/article_4de56019-cfd6-5dea-a570-eee16af2052e.html
Accepting outcomes isn't easy to do | - Brunswick News
https://news.google.com/search?q=easy&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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