We’re in Berkeley California at the moment, not by choice but because we are participating in a retirement celebration for one of the most prominent researchers in Cindy’s literacy field, David Pearson. Glad to be here, I guess, but as we came into town from the airport, passing literally dozens of “homeless” encampments (subdivisions of a sort), I was reminded of the value of the Electoral College. And I was reminded, oddly enough, of why I am not a democrat, nor a republican, but an independent (thinker).
California is a one-party state and has been for many years. I am surprised that Republican legislators even bother to show up for work. Nothing they want will get passed the block that is Jerry Brown and the rest of his minions. Little surprise, therefore, that in 2016, the state went overwhelmingly for Crooked Hillary in the presidential election. She won the state with 61.73% of the vote with a 30.11% margin over Donald Trump.
Trump’s vote share in the state (31.62%) was the lowest for a major-party candidate since John W. Davis’s 8.2% in 1924. When The Donald showed up to do some campaigning in San Diego (the only time he came to the state), he was nearly hectored to death.
So, California’s electoral college vote went to Clinton. That is as it should be. No accusations of voter tampering, no claims of Russian influence (unless you take a second look at the value of a one-party-state, a’la Vlad Putin), and certainly no assertions of voter intimidation. Californians got a say as to their preference for the next president. Or, I should say, 2/3rds of them did.
All good.
But then … Surprise!
Several “swing states” voted for Trump, including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Michigan. Suddenly, we are treated to the endless barrage of Russia-this, Russia-that. Suddenly, the Electoral College is “outdated” and an artifact of White Privilege. So on and so forth.
It gets to be too much. And this is why I am now convinced that The Left in my country has become the perfect home for the entitled generation of American youth who, when they do not get their way, decide to upend everything, no matter the consequences.
To wit, we are now on the verge of what The Left is calling its “Summer of Rage.” Promising to “lay their bodies on the line” (Michael Moore, the fatso of the Left, said this on Colbert’s Late Show last night), they are on the cusp of joining Maxine Waters in her call for civil disobedience in the spirit of Martin Luther King.
That this includes intimidating members of the presidential cabinet at their homes, yelling at their children in public places, and “inviting” republicans to leave restaurants, can hardly be what MLK envisioned.
But no matter.
This is where we’re at in our country: upcoming Days of Rage because the “system” did not work to give them what they wanted. I have no doubt that before the summer is over this will devolve into the burning of buildings and a near-constant threat of physical violence.
I’ll get to what this has to do with bums, their encampments, and the Electoral College, in a moment.
But before I go there, perhaps you’ve seen this little phrase floating around the internet these days: “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention!” What preposterous nonsense. Here is what I have to say:
First off, if it’s the case that you find yourself outraged, then it is probably a case of paying too much attention.
Second, I need to remember that if I find myself offended by all this nonsense, it is largely my fault. No one has the power to offend me or to harm me with words. No one. Period. Stick and stones, yes, but words can never hurt me. To be hurt is a conscious choice, a power that rests solely with me, inside my mind. I cannot think of how these millennials are hurt such that they will now resort to a summer of violence. Perhaps they should pause for a moment and figure that out.
And third, what evidence is there that being outraged solves anything? Will Days of Rage, yelling at children, or burning down buildings, really get the outraged what they want? If people really are doing awful things, it’s probably because they are not being rational or considerate. The solution to a problem is rarely more of the same!
I need to keep reminding myself of all of this, particularly when I see the homeless people along the side of the road in their state-sponsored homes (such as they are). I also need to keep reminding myself that California, the place of my birth, has absolutely nothing to teach me about how to run a civil society.
While money and resources are spent making sure the homeless can crap in public spaces in full-on view of everyone, including our children; while the cities and towns of California allow these hobos to live in absolute squalor in a way that reminds me of the definition of the word dysfunctional; while the leaders of California sacrifice the general welfare for these few ; while these same leaders expend police resources making sure that the hobos can live as they want — while all that goes on, one can hear gun shots as the ghettos around Oakland erupt in violence nearly every night (see note below about ShotsFired™).
In other words, not at all “civil.”
Why in the world, then, would I want a popular vote to decide who my president will be? Californians (2/3rds of them anyway) would foist upon me their way of running a “civil” society. No thanks.
And therefore, thank God for the electoral college. It was the failsafe that kept us safe from having Californians decide how the rest of us should live by deciding who should be our President.
ShotsFired™ is a new product being deployed by police in several Bay Area communities that promises help to beleaguered law enforcement as they go about tracking down those gunshots I mentioned above.
