The day after


By Jim Killebrew

[November 05, 2014]  As I sit at my desk on election day writing this perspectives piece, the polls are still open, millions are still voting all over the nation. At this point the outcome of the election is not yet known; even though by the time you read this article on Wednesday you will have the results. People on television, radio, and the internet will be talking non-stop about those results. Newspapers will have already printed their headlines of winners and losers, there is likely a continuous chatter regarding analysis of not only who won or lost, but why each one managed an "upset" or "went down in defeat." If they lost, the democrats will be backtracking trying to spin the loss on the egregious behavior of the republicans; while the republicans, if they lost, will likely hammer away at the voter fraud they suspect might have been happening.

This has been the political version of the "super bowl" for this political season. We have experienced the rough and tumble, wallow-in-the-mud political experience with politicians mixing it up in speeches, television and radio ads, tweeting, face booking, emailing, and U-Tubing their positions about everything they think the American voter wants to hear. There has been a vulgar amount of money spent on this election. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent to simply convince the voters that lies are truth and truth is somewhere in the middle. The political operatives from the most conservative to the most liberal positions have been mixed up in the political washer, rung out and hung out, just so the voter could see the spinning positions blowing in the wind. The political pollsters have dampened their fingers, stuck them in the air and tried to guess which way that political wind was blowing. No doubt there have been some "smoke-filled back rooms" where the politicians have gathered in the dim light, huddled around and operative's findings of some mud that had been thrown that finally stuck on the candidate they chose to hate. But, all is well, because now, it is all over, as they say, "but the shouting."

Perhaps the most important thing about the political Olympics of American politics known as the election cycle in America is the fact that with such a shrinking world, the global magnifying glass is larger than life, and the entire world watches as we go through this "madness" every four years for Presidents; every six years for Senators, and every two years for Representatives. Additionally, we have the State-wide elections around every term in the offices throughout the states' political landscape as well. As we gather like gladiators on the world stage with societies, cultures and countless people-groups making up the audience for this spectator sport, we give them a show that provides a mouth-dropping experience for each of them.

This election cycle has been no different. The main event has been to serve up the Administration and all the foibles it has brought to the fore. Ebola, ISIS, economy, nation building, foreign affairs, various wars around the world, Middle East fighting each other, our own military being down-sized, prestige and influence from America being decimated by the construction of red lines dared not to be crossed, and then stepping backwards ourselves simply to draw another imaginary red line. We have argued about energy independence, the delay of Keystone pipeline, moratoriums on drilling on public land and off-shore. And, of course, the Presidential abuse of power along with a do-nothing Congress, or at least the Senate. These issues have been the more recent ones, we still talked about the standbys: Amnesty, unsecure Southern borders, same-sex marriage, abortion, Obamacare, racial issues, and the class warfare created by redistribution of wealth.

But you see, these are the things that constitute the strength of America. Dictators, kings, potentates, rulers, Ayatollahs, Prime Ministers, and tribal leaders all over the world watch in amazement as the Americans go at it. We hang it all out and everyone can see it. The problem they see is that the Americans are fighting in the arena of ideas, not the revolutionary fields of war. Many around the world are used to revolution, genocide consisting of murder, rape, kidnapping, and taking to the streets to "overthrow" forcefully the government of repression. In America, "We the People" continue to rule, and that is what today, election day, is all about.

All the politicians, talking heads, talking point writers, media, commentators, talk-show hosts, liberals, conservatives, bloggers, tweeters, and political operatives have their say in the beginning, the run up to the election, and right to the election day. On that day, however, they clear the field, step aside to the side of the road, sit down and simply watch. Because on election day the real power is demonstrated. Without having tanks and guns, planes or rockets, each single citizen who chooses to vote goes into the booth and marks the choices of their selections. Collectively, each of those American citizens choose their next government. All politicians must yield to that citizen power.

Thank you to each citizen who chose to vote; you have "wowed" the entire world. Believe me, they will notice.

[By JIM KILLEBREW]