Hope Amid Chaos
Stop putting your hope in the President
This election season, both sides of the aisle are telling us that choosing the other side means the end of America as we know it. In order to restore or preserve *insert important topic here*, we must choose their candidate. And if you vote for the other person, then puppies will die and you hate your children.
It is the same drivel every election season and frankly, I’m sick of it. I tuned out politics, mostly after we elected Trump. It turned into an all out war between the media, Trump, and his administration. Fake news was rampant, and it is almost impossible to tell what is fact anymore. Everyone lost credibility. Until Trump’s election, I wasted hours arguing with people on the internet about why my side was right and their side was wrong.
Our government is a democratic republic. No single branch has all the power and no single or handful of states control the presidential election outcome. It is slow to make laws, and that is intentional. We expect immediate gratification, and we expect everyone to affirm us. I can’t think of a less affirming topic than politics. I don’t know any two people that 100% agree on every topic. With social media, email, text messages, and 24-hour news cycles, every person (who is rich enough to have internet access) on the planet can voice their opinion immediately and consume any source of information they choose. But that is also the source of a big problem. Not every source of information is trustworthy, and almost every source is biased. Every major news outlet in the world is biased and I will die on that hill. We choose our “trusted” sources and we stick with them. Maybe you consume news from multiple news sources just so you are aware of what the “other side” is saying, but you still choose which one you will believe. You are biased, whether you admit it or not. It is our nature.
Years ago, I decided that I would not be anxious about or put my hope in a single position of government in this world. Heck, I don’t put hope in my government at all. They disappoint me in just about every way possible, and that’s to be expected. Our government is a human construct and is doomed to fail at some point. No government in history has lasted the test of time. While I love this Great Experiment that I call home, I have no expectations that it will last forever.
If you’re reading this and your immediate response is that I’m wrong because of *insert important topic here* then you are missing my point. Yes, that topic is important, but you are living an anxious life filled with fear of something you have no control over. Yes, your vote counts, but you are one out of hundreds of millions who also have a vote.
On Election Day, I hope that you vote. I hope that your voice is heard through that most miniscule, powerful action of hope. But I also hope that you accept the outcome and move on with your life. Yes, some things will change no matter who is elected, but your day-to-day life most likely will not change dramatically. Focus on you and yours. Live your life. Put your hope in something that will stand the test of time.
