Why did it happen?

Yes, I'm disappointed with the results of the election.

I have my own thoughts as to why things turned out the way they did.

One of the main reasons, I believe, has to do with the economy.  Pundits say that Donald Trump tapped into the deep seated conviction, primarily of white blue collar workers, that they have been treated unfairly.  Their jobs went overseas.  They were not able to obtain jobs that allowed them to keep their middle class lifestyle.  Someone must be to blame:  immigrants, documented, undocumented, and CITIZENS, make easy targets.

I agree with them.  Someone is to blame.

There are the politicians who lacked the vision to support educational efforts that would enable those who have lost their jobs to compete in a new economy.  There are the politicians who lacked the vision to see the opportunity in an economy no longer based on fossil fuels but on renewable resources.  There are the politicians who hold to the old economy because they are afraid to tell the truth to their constituents.  There are the politicians who, simply put, are afraid to lead.

There are the education systems that devolved into teaching for the test and not for competence. There are education systems that forgot how to instill values without resorting to one brand of religion or another.

There are the major corporations, lacking any sense of civic responsibility to their employees and the communities left reeling in the aftermath.

There is a culture that no longer valued education the way it did in the post World War II years that sent millions of veterans to school and created a generation of businessmen, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals, that values the superstar basketball player over the high school physics teacher, that does not insist that an educated electorate is to be prized.

Finally, there are the citizens themselves.  Those who refused to admit that they no longer had the skills to make it in a new economy and refused to take responsibility improving their lot by means of education.

What's the big deal about education?  A well rounded education, easily obtained or not, gives the individual the tools, not only to earn a decent living, but also to learn to think critically, to have a sense of curiosity about the world, to learn to discern truth.

So we ended up with two candidates, but with flaws.  We decided with our emotions on which was the more flawed.

One had a career in public service.  She had made some mistakes, was not the most likable or approachable, but was clearly competent to take on the job.  You don't have to like your President.  But that doesn't mean you can't go the extra mile and decide for yourself whether her flaws were so significant and verifiable that she didn't deserve the office.  There's that critical thinking thing again.

The other had no background in public service.  By one measure, he lied once every three minutes he was on the campaign trail.  He kept the fact checkers busier than they've ever been.  He scapegoated immigrants, insulted women, threatened to put his opponent in jail.

Over fifty newspapers endorsed one of the candidates.  Only two endorsed the other.  But newspapers are languishing.  Readership is down.

One candidate had her party solidly behind her.  The other found his party seeking to distance themselves from him.

So I'm disappointed.  I'm disappointed that it was even close, so close that the electoral college is being challenged.  How was it close?  Did we think change was so important that we were willing to allow a campaign that resembled a demolition derby more than civil discourse?  Were we more willing to accept the easy lies rather than the difficult truths?

I've done my best to keep an open mind.  It's been easy for me.  Either way, I don't really have a dog in the hunt.  I'm white, male, and sixty-seven years old with retirement savings for which I am more grateful than I can express.

I also know that we live in a world that disputes facts, truth.  I remind people that you can have your opinion, but you can't have your own facts.  But that's what happened.  People chose their own "facts".  They listened to the big lie.  They went for the outsider in the White House, but re-elected the same Congress.

I've tried to speak truth here.  I hope I've given you something to think about.

Until next time.