2016 Election: Guys, 100% Serious Here, Don't Panic · 8:04am Nov 9th, 2016
Media is gonna be worse than a monkey house tonight and next few weeks. I should know, I worked at a zoo. So many people got so heavily invested in the US election I got friends from other nationalities ringing me up saying how scared they are about it. I am not here to talk politics or my views, that has no place here and will only embroil the issue. Don't do it.
This is a statement because I read of so many people every election freaking out and in some cases doing bad things to themselves and others. This election especially has been hot. Here's some cold hard truths though that have kept me sane. Again DO NOT DISCUSS POLITICS AND POLICY HERE. People are already losing their heads and I don't want anyone going nuts or a fight to break out.
1. The president is not as powerful and people think they are. The president is not an absolute monarch. They are the chief of the executive office. All decisions made by the executive office may not align with their views or wishes anyways. The USA has a checks and balances system which, despite what a lot of cynical folk say does work because it was implemented after we had a rogue president. Even if we got an absolute nut-job in the white house, we still got dozens of people in the Legislative and Judicial branch to balance them out.
2. 90% of the time each president is very, very similar in action to their predecessor because that is just nature of the office. This has played straight with virtually every single presidency despite party lines and views sometimes drastically differing person to person in the office. Drastic changes like who gets rights or what laws have been passed being repealed at extremely rare and only happen if a vast majority of the public supports it. I could swear up and down I'm going to outlaw the color purple, and unless 95/100 people think the same; I couldn't do squat no matter what my ideological view of the color purple is.
3. The news media is the worst source for unbias political information these days. I don't care what news station you watch, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc., they all have their own agendas and everything is about rating and viewership. They will run whatever inflammatory article or statement they can use as long as people keep letting it burn. Candidates are people, people do and say moral or immoral things. Judge them off what you find out about them from factual sources, not which news station is saying who is the second coming of Hitler.
4. It's just an election. At the end of the day worrying up and down about things beyond your control will only fruitlessly drive you bonkers. I defer to a statement from the 1982 film "The Flight of Dragons". In it, a conclusion a character comes too is that the greatest force isn't magic, or fear, or love; it's inevitability. I can buy that wholeheartedly in situations like this. Every roller coaster, no matter how terrifying, prolonged, or energetic; will come to an end. Every hurricane and natural disaster will eventually pass to a new area. The hottest day will eventually set. And the worst of arguments and conflicts will eventually stop. It's the nature of inevitability. You can't jump off a roller coaster (least you shouldn't), command a hurricane to end, speed up the time of day, or force everyone to think alike; so ignoring these inevitabilities is fruitless and self destructive.
5. No, these are not the worst candidates ever. I've read plenty of history and see enough trends in presentation of media. This election only seems so bad because so many people are taking it too seriously because the media they devour on it is so fast flowing and widespread, more so than ever before. And this rabid consumption results in new hype for said media, creating a vicious cycle. Less than 100 years ago it was common practice for reporters covering these exact same events to wait days, if not weeks, formulating their articles before publishing. You'd only read of what so and so said in such and such context probably months after the fact.
And in American history, we've had some presidents whom by both today's and their current time's standards are/were atrocious. But morality and good executive decisions are not always exclusive to one another. We've had very foul people who turned out to be pretty successful presidents, and we've had very moral people turn into mediocre presidents. There is no such thing as a "good" or a "bad" president, we're all human. If you get your information from just one source, you will get a slanted view.
Case and point? The first president, George Washington.
If you follow the very positive portrayals, Wash was a tactical genius, a moral saint, father to his men, a paragon of liberty; and a virtual demigod among men whom has not yet found an equal.
If you follow the very negative portrayals, Wash was a bigot and a hypocrite of the highest caliber, callously slaughtering thousands of Native Americans, a lax party slob in his presidency; and a man who was a con artist of history.
Neither one of these is true. Washington did know many advanced tactics, but he had plenty of blunders including being the spark that lit up the French and Indian War that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands from both sides. He did own slaves, but he was also one of a handful of founders who freed all his slaves after growing very bitter towards the practice in his later years; and shamed over the fact he couldn't have stopped it without risking the nation's wholeness. I really could rabble on for hours, but I think my point as been made. You gotta research these things yourself and not get caught up in the media hype train.
Because that is a train that runs itself off a cliff every 4 years and I do not want to see any passengers on board when it nose dives. Please for the love of whatever your belief finds holy, don't lose your head.
To reiterate, I don't care who you voted for or supported. I do not care whom you voice opposition for or not. What I do care about is arguments breaking out and I do not want that happening here or any of my other pages. This election has caused way too much grief for more people than I like it to and I do not want to see it spilling onto my pages
This is based off the assumption the president is a politician.
Trump is not a politician.
Ah, words of wisdom have been spoken.
Personally at the result I just had a good laugh then shrug it off.
Now I'll just go back to bed since I only slept two hours.
Yeah, I use the internet for many things, but discussing politics is not one of them. Other folks' politics are none of my business.
4291765 Scar please, I said no politics. I was putting this out because I am honestly afraid others may end up hurting themselves or doing something stupid. If a janitor runs for political office, they're a politician.
B-but I voted for the guy on the Pringles cans...can we talk about him?
i'm glad someone's being sane about this.
Do i have my own opinions? naturally. I don't like either candidate, and i am seriously questioning overall intelligence in my country. I feel like we got the best of a bad situation, and i feel as though we picked the worst candidates for the election, but they aren't the worst ever, i agree with you there.
Kudos Tarb. You're one of the few rational and optimistic people I've seen so far since this night. You have yourself a blessed night, good sir.
I'm just numb at this point. I have no idea what to think anymore. My mind has been split so many ways trying to understand the psychology of the human mind this year that I feel like I'm collapsing in on myself. And you know what? I'm done. I quit. I'm through trying to understand the thoughts and mentality of people I've never met, never going to meet, and do not affect my life. I refuse to give this any more of my concern at this point. If something happens, it happens, and I'll deal with it as it comes. The world isn't coming to an end, WW3 is not around the corner, and MLP is still here to show us the light. As hard as it might be for some to follow this advice, please try: Let. It. Go.
I am so glad that you of all people are the most calm and level-headed of us in this time of media turmoil.
Let's just pray that these next four years are going to be quick and painless, and like everyone else here, I'm not one to discuss for politics.
For as my grand-papa used to tell me, "There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people, religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."
You know, I think it was fate that yesterday, I watched the MLP episode "It's about Time" and Twilight learned to stop worrying about things she can't control. We should remember such, and treat others the way we want to be treated.
I commend your maturity Tarb.
Thanks for being a voice of sanity here.
And yeah, you're right: the news media will drive you nuts if you let them.
What makes me mad is how Tumblr is acting like we just elected Hitler. No matter WHICH side you support, that's just insane.
So this is what it's like on the other side. Eight years ago, I had family members who were screaming that Obama was the death of America.
Oh, thanks so much for writing this, bro! Though you might not realize it, you've helped clear my mind of this issue even further. But it's funny, but if you look on my DA page, you'll see i admitted to accepting this. And i told everyone that i would be forgiving of our "new president" (who i refuse to call by name) and praying that God would keep him from causing as much havoc as some feared he would. I acknowledged that there are people who wouldn't let that happen, and as such i managed to find peace. But this? This is reinforcement. SO thank you for making this, tarb. I really needed it.
Hear, Hear!
Ya know, you make a good point. I stay away from politics, so I never voted. But I kinda wished Hilary Clinton won, simply because it'll make history. I just hope Trump doesn't somehow turn America into a piece of s**t in the future.
Finally someone gets it!
I say whatever, 4 years will pass by just like that.
The only thing I have to say about this is: you worked on a zoo?
Yeah. Things are bad, but we gotta keep a cool head.
I'm just going to let Peter Venkman speak for me here:
Amen, Tarb. Let's see what these next four years will bring to the table.
Good to know you've got your head on straight
The more things change the more they stay the same. To paraphrase Karr.
I'm glad to see the fimfic crowd being level headed. Everywhere else is kind of...well on fire :/
4293707 Indeed. Sometime I'll tell you guys about the Emu Stooges' Great Escape
4294702
Now that sounds like a good story XD
4295319 Anything involving three two meter tall birds that sound like high pitched drums running around a zoo before hours and eating gram crackers is bound to be a good story XD
4295536 Oh sweet Tanaka PLEASe tell us that story grampa Tarby! Please!
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: YOU CAN(NOT) GO BACK.
Right on brother.