Final thoughts on the election

It is no secret that I supported, and voted for Gary Johnson.  Early on I was optimistic that the Johnson/Weld campaign would gain momentum, make it onto the debate stage, and become a truly viable 3rd option in the election.  Over the last few weeks I had resigned myself to the fact that the 2 party machine was too big to be overcome this year, but I hold out hope that eventually there will be more choices in American politics.  You can say what you want about 3rd party voters, but we tried to make a sane rational choice in an insane irrational election.  

While many people want to say 3rd party is a "protest" vote, the reality is that yesterday the protest votes won the election.  While racism, bigotry, sexism, and misogyny or what ever others want to claim may have played a small part in Donald Trump winning, I believe most of the people who voted for him are basically good people who are fed up with politics as usual in Washington.  They are fed up with the sense of entitlement and moral superiority that both the Republicans and Democrats have displayed over the years, and they bought into the perception that Trump is a political outsider.  I think the Democrats made it easier for people to over look the worst parts of the Trump campaign by insinuating sometimes subtly and sometimes not that by not supporting the agenda of Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton you were somehow a racist or a sexist, and that made many people feel like since they were being accused of it anyway, they might as well just roll with it when Trump did or said things that would not normally be acceptable.

There have been 6 Presidents in my lifetime, (Trump will be #7) 3 have been Democrats, and 3 have been Republicans.  Every time there has been a change in leadership, the losing side has predicted doom & gloom and the end of life as we know it.  The reality is that we all got up this morning and went to work, or school, or stayed home with the kids, or whatever our normal routine is.  Life goes on, we will survive a Trump presidency just like we have survived the 44 presidency's before.  For most of us, our daily life won't change much. 

My biggest hope is that over the course of the next 4 years both Democrats & Republicans take a hard look in the mirror and think about how bad they fucked up to make people think Donald Trump, the Reality TV host, and WWE Hall of Famer was a viable option to lead the Nation.  That both parties stop trying to divide us by skewing further & further to the left and right leaving a huge segment of the population that lives in the middle feeling unrepresented by either side.  That both parties try to find common ground, and compromise to make things better for all.  That both parties try to find a better class of candidate than what they have produced in the last 20 years or more.  I also hope that the American public looks at the system we have and gives more credit to 3rd party candidates.  Even if you don't totally agree with everything they represent, it is another point of view, and what we currently have doesn't work for a lot of people.  By believing the myth that there are only 2 ways to govern, you are doing yourself and others a disservice.  3rd party candidates offer a fresh perspective on a lot of the issues, even if you decide not to vote for them, you may find something you hadn't thought of before. 

And lastly, to all of the people who are upset, and think that a Trump victory has ruined their lives, I would suggest to you that if you are counting on a politician, or the government for your happiness you will usually wind up disappointed.  If you are a good decent person you will have friends & family to help you along they way, but in the end it is up to you to reach your goals in life.  You will determine your own success or failure.  The government can't make your dreams come true, that is up to you.

Why I hated school.

Skipping my 20 year reunion last week, and all of the back to school posts that I have seen recently has gotten me to thinking about why school was such a miserable experience.  For the most part I blame the teachers & principals. Either I was cursed with the worst run of horrible human beings to ever go into education, or there are way to many people in the field for all of the wrong reasons.  Out of all of the teachers and principals I encountered in 12 years of school, only 4 or 5 actually had a positive impact on me.  Of the rest there were 10 or 12 that I absolutely hated, either because they were total bullies on an ego trip getting off on pushing kids around, or they were too busy trying to force their own personal beliefs down our throats to actually teach a class. To be honest I can only remember about 20 of my teachers names, most of the rest were fairly disengaged, going thru the motions until retirement and enjoying their summers off, and not even leaving enough of an impression for me to remember them as an adult.  While I will fully admit I was no saint I would say that 85% of the trouble I got into in school was a reaction to their Bull Shit, or due to the reputation I had earned for standing up to it.  15% I probably totally deserved.  These experiences are a huge part of why I like hanging out with all of the kids at the track, because they need to know there are adults out there who do care about them, and not all grown ups are assholes.  It is also a large part of why I never want to have kids of my own.  Some of the emotional scars inflicted on me by the people who were supposed to be molding & nurturing my development will never heal, and I know that if somebody ever did or said some of those things to my kid I would end up in jail. Now as an adult, I actually have a number of friends who work in Education.  It is my sincere hope that all of you are like the 4 or 5 good teachers I had, and that I have not somehow made friends with the enemy.  Please remember that you are supposed to be a positive influence on the kids in your classrooms, and it is about them, not you.  I know you all to be good people outside of work, and for the sake of future generations I like to think all of you are just as awesome in the classroom.