Same As It Ever Was

Last week I blogged about the U.S. election, so I feel obligated to write a short followup blog since the election is over and America has gone about the business of sharing a hug, congratulating each other, and moving along to a brighter future.

Okay, only one of those things is true: The election is over. The person I thought would win the presidency, and hoped would win, did not win. This would be earth-shattering news if It weren’t for the fact that it happens about every other election. I’m batting around .500 in presidential elections. So are most other Americans.

The person who was elected president this year by a pretty decent margin is the same person who was rejected four years ago by a pretty decent margin.

What this teaches me is that Americans can’t make up their minds. They don’t know what they want – except that they want everything, and right now, this minute, no waiting. If they can’t get it from this president then they’ll vote for that president.  But that president won’t give them what they want, either, so out with that one and in with a new one.

What many Americans seem to want right now are lower prices on consumer goods. Prices are much higher than they used to be. Of course, they are always much higher than they used to be – whether it’s 2024 or 1994 or 1924 or 1864. That’s how capitalism works.

Something happens to drive prices higher – like, oh, a global pandemic that chokes the supply chain and forces companies to pay more for their raw materials, distribution, labor, whatever. Those companies deal with it by hiking their own prices, allowing them to still hit their margins and realize their profits. When customers complain, the companies do a brilliant little tap dance by pointing their fingers at someone else, like the government. The customers take the bait. It’s the president’s fault! Let’s get another president!

Americans are expert at assigning blame. We’ve practically turned it into an art form. Some guy spends year after year, decade after decade, failing to realize his financial goals, his American dream. Does he blame himself? Nah. He blames someone else – the president, Congress, immigrants, the school system. It can’t be his fault. It can’t be because he failed to adapt to changing times, or failed to move where the jobs are, or failed to develop more marketable skills. Nah, it’s always someone else’s fault.

Here’s a sure bet: That guy will have the same problems two years from now that he had two years ago or 20 years ago, regardless of who’s president.

I have an increasingly ambivalent attitude toward the United States and its elections as I grow older. I really wanted one thing this election, but I didn’t get it. We’ll see how things go with the new administration. If it turns out bad, then I’ll do what I can to help make it better. If it turns out less than bad, then I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

In the meantime, it’s time to count blessings rather than fret over what might have been. Personally, I have financial security, a nice home, a family I love and that loves me back, great friends, great health, amazing experiences. So do a lot of Americans.

There are parts of the world where people wake up, every day, wondering where their next meal is going to come from. Some barely have shelter. Some die from drinking municipal water that is not properly purified. They would trade their problems for ours in a heartbeat.

The only country that really matters to me right now is made up of about four dozen people – family and friends that I love. That’s where my patriotism lies. America made its choice. Part of the country is feeling exuberant and the other is feeling downtrodden.

I guess I’m feeling not much of anything at all. There are worse things in the world.

Note: The photo is one I took at the beach this past summer. It seemed oddly appropriate, considering that the ocean keeps coming in and going out, much like the political seas.