It has been two weeks but I'm still devastated! Hillary should have won!! =[ (Congress, legal)
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Liberalism just doesn’t work in the real world. Advocating ideas that make people’s lives worse, they fall apart at the first touch of reality (example, Obamacare), and that rely on a government that’s inevitably slow, stupid, and ineffective, it’s not going to be conducive to your happiness.
Liberal policies are candy-coated and may appear appealing at first, but inevitably do a lot of damage to everyone impacted by them. The better you understand the world and human nature, the easier life is going to be for you.
If you spend your whole life trying to slam a square peg into a round hole, it’s not likely to lead to contentment.
I only know one extremely happy, extremely content progressive. He's one of my godson's uncles. He's very jolly. He's in his 60's. He has a graduate degree. He's married to his high school sweetheart. He had two simultaneous careers, both government jobs, one full time (Fedgov, with one of the alphabet agencies, who would loan him out to another one of the alphabet agencies) and one part time state gig in academia. He's retired from the federal gig, but kept the part-time gig. Years ago, one night (this was after he and his wife had been together for over 25 years) about 20 of us were at their house. After a few bottles of wine among all of us (I drank very occasionally back then, now don't at all) one of his wife's sisters pointed to her sister and my godson's uncle and made a comment about how they are always hmm hmming . I thought , one of the reasons he's so jolly .
I had an odd upbringing. My mother came from a well educated upper class WASP family. Off the top of my head, my maternal grandparents counted one POTUS, three governors, one SCOTUS Chief Justice, one SEC Chairman, two cabinet secretaries, several ambassadors, as well as assorted others among their personal friends. My father grew up in a well educated (Jesuit), middle class, Catholic, hard drinking, half Irish family. My parents were pretty clueless, generally pretty deficient as parents, and couldn't provide. The stability in my life came from my maternal grandparents. I had the most wonderful grandparents, in just about every way I can think of, that anyone could wish for in a million lifetimes. My parents divorced before I turned 10. On dad visitation days, my dad would often take me to seedy bars so he could drink, and then take me to church. My grandparents would take me to parties that were a part of their social whirl. Maintaining a certain social veneer was important in my mother's family. My father played along with that to a certain extent, but he could also see the parts of that that really didn't serve any purpose. I grew up in the SF Bay Area and most of my family on both sides also lived in the Bay Area. As a kid I got to spend a lot of time with both very different sides of my family (one of the bad things, IMO, about American society as it is today is not as many kids at any level get to experience that).
My maternal grandfather was probably the most patriotic person I have ever known. He was an officer in the US Navy in World War I (my grandparents were older than most grandparents when I was born). I don't think my grandfather ever knowingly purchased anything that wasn't made in the U.S. or the UK. The unspoken message that emanated from my grandfather...act like me, don't act like your father. Another message was that the POTUS should act with a certain level of decorum, or some might say proper bearing. My grandfather's personality might have been likened to Romney, and my father's personality was more like Trump's personality (although my father was in the Army, in the infantry, on the front lines during the Korean War...so he had that experience that Trump has never had). My grandfather treated my grandmother like a queen, and that respect radiated as an example for his grandsons. My grandfather was usually right, but there were some occasions where his advice was wrong, and my father's more blunt, perhaps uncouth, solutions were the correct solutions. I think I couldn't bring myself to support Trump because a certain group of the women in my family mean more to me than the men, and I felt supporting him would be disrespecting them. However, from the time he got the nomination I felt that if he became POTUS the greatest likelihood would be that he would end up at one extreme or the other....be one of the best ever, or one of the worst ever.
Whatever faults Trump has, I don't doubt that he loves this country. IMO, there is a certain force that emanates from from fellow citizens where you can just tell that they really love this country. To me, it's palpable. It is also NOT specific to ideology or political party. Trump has it. Romney has it. Bernie Sanders has it. Biden has it. Some of the Bushes do. Condoleezza Rice has it. Bill did, but that force has somehow dimmed within him. IMO, both Obama and Hillary do not have it. Sometimes it doesn't come from upbringing....it can come later. David Gregory didn't used to have it, but he does now. Chris Matthews doesn't have it.
With the sort of dual nature of my upbringing (and for other reasons), I feel as though I understand Trump, and I understand Romney, and to a certain extent I understand Obama. Hillary puzzles me though. The closest I come to understanding Hillary is by observing one of my relatives. She's a bit younger than Hillary, but still old enough to have parents of the same generation. She had a much more privileged upbringing than Hillary did, has had a great life, but there is something that just sort of gnaws at her. She never seems really happy or content. Oddly enough among one particular group of her friends, she is the only one who doesn't know Hillary personally. I can't stand Hillary, and that is not a new feeling. I've felt that way for over 20 years...I think a good chunk of my optimism now re 'the state of things to come'....society wise (I don't need anything personally)....may just come from the fact that Hillary won't be sworn in in January.
I you asked anyone in my family who is the highest quality person they've ever known is, I think everyone would pick my grandmother. She didn't need anything from anyone, but had hundreds of friends who would have done anything for her. Her kindness knew no bounds. She was very strong, but if she thought she had hurt anyone's feelings, it would ruin her day. IMO, she would be appalled at todays forced political correctness. The axe to grind nature of so many interactions. She wouldn't see the need for it. She could make anyone from any background feel welcome and comforted. IMO, people like Ben Carson, Allen West, Condoleezza Rice, etc. see beyond the haze that would appall my grandmother, ignore it or deal with it, and move on.... and that 'viewing beyond' that those individuals are able to mentally harness...IMO, it drives progressives crazy.
Before the election I believe the country right direction vs. wrong direction percentage was still above 65% in the wrong direction. In some ways I felt as though we were just continuing to arrange the proverbial deck chairs on the Titanic. That may still be the case, but it feels as though we may have more invigorating air to breathe.
Interesting read. Well thought out and so well articulated. Thank you.
I've been voting since the 60's and I cannot remember an election in which so many people had such a huge emotional investment. The media did a huge disservice to Hillary supporters either by their inept reporting or by their arrogance in thinking they could sweep Hillary into the WH by their unequivocal support of her, leading many millions to think she was a shoo in. The New York Times--the newspaper that sets the agenda for the rest of the MSM--issued a letter of apology to their subscribers admitting they got it wrong and urged their subscribers to stay with them, pledging to do better in the future.
As far as I'm concerned, the takeaway lesson from this election for those who supported Hillary is to step away from immersing yourself so totally in politics and one candidate and realize that, in all probability, your life isn't going to change a whole lot because of any one particular person winning (or not winning) the election--the reason being is a president (of ANY country and regardless of who wins an election) still has several layers of a "shadow government" above him/her who will be pulling the important strings that have enormous influence on EVERYONE'S life.
OP, another note. I as well as a lot of other people just can't afford liberalism. One example is Obamacare, you may be happy but a lot of us are not. It's not because we don't want everyone to be insured, of course I do, but when I'm expected to pay sky high premiums and it's so high that I can no longer afford to buy my own insurance, of course I'm not happy,... for the first time in my life I will not have healthcare insurance. If only the young who think they believe in socialism, when it was time to put their money where their mouth is and pay up they didn't believe in socialism so much. Socialism does not take human nature into account.
There has to be a better way. That's where debate and allowing input from both sides of the isle, a central but small government is best. It's never good for one side to push something through using hard nosed politics like Obama and Democrats did and as a result it is now failing. Obama also did executive orders, you may have even felt empowered when he did that but notice it can all be reversed with a swipe of a pen. Everyone has to win something in order for it to work or the pen will be put into action at first chance.
I often hear this from a few co-workers and think I worked hard to get where I am. I took the double shifts so that I could buy the various properties. I struggled through the housing crash and made it out the other side. I don`t consider myself rich but I am better off than most but then I worked my ass off to get where I am.
I voted for Trump among things hoping he kick starts the economy.
And for those under thirty who got burned by student loans and a worthless degree... I say they have learned a valuable lesson.
And better to learn it while you`re still young rather than at 45 like I was when the housing market crashed.
Whiners in my family - teachers and attorneys come to mind
Non whiners in my family - MDs, dentists, business owners, investors, police command staff come to mind
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. I thought 
, one of the reasons he's so jolly 
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