It's Not Really About the Candidates

 

So, Trump received guilty verdicts on 34 charges in a New York court.  It’s a big story for now but these verdicts will be over-turned on appeal which will become the next big story.  Trump may still win in November.  Or maybe Biden wins.  Or maybe Republican and Democratic party leadership wakes up and finds replacement candidates.  

 

Whatever the outcome, we now live in a nation even more divided.  Conservatives vs. Progressives with little common ground between them.  This division is forcing “independents” to pick a side.  Of course, there will be some number of middle-grounders who will vote for a personality or whichever side supports their hot-button self-interest issue. But increasingly voters will have to weigh one side versus the other in terms of the voter’s overall self-interest, not just one big issue.  

 

There are hardcore supporters on the left and right who toe the line and buy into everything their party stands for.  But the big middle is made up of people who have their own opinions.  Nevertheless, that doesn’t make them independent.  These “middle” voters will make hard choices and it won’t be based on what they think of Trump or Biden.  It will come down to what’s most important to these voters and which party is most likely to do what these voters consider to be “the right thing” at this time. 

 

Trump and Biden may be symbolic but are essentially irrelevant to these voters.  It’s about the issues that matter.  My sense is that the most important ones revolve around the economy, border security and cultural values.  Clearly there are many divisive issues imbedded within these categories and some voters will base their vote on one or two issues.  Abortion access for example or student loan forgiveness.  But most of those in the middle will be considering a wide range of issues and it will come down to which party is most likely to fix the most problems or perhaps just stop the bleeding and do no further harm.

 

The “middle voters” in the swing states will decide the November election. Whichever party can convince these voters they are most likely to address their concerns will win.  The party that caters too much to their devoted followers will lose.  

 

I don’t live in a swing state.  Texas remains red, although not as red as it used to be.  I am one of those middle voters who is not “all in” on either side.  But I do know how I will vote.  Something about stop digging when you’re in a deep hole.

More Two Cents Worth

 

The first “Two Cents Worth” entry was last month, April 24 to be exact.  I think it’s time for another installment.

 

The Trump trial in New York is just another “you can’t make this stuff up” story that makes one wonder how much longer we can hold this republic together?  Massive deficit spending, cat fights in Congress, strangers crossing our borders, an education system that no longer educates, unaffordable housing and a nation irreconcilably divided on most every issue that matters.  And we can’t even find reasonably competent, age-appropriate Presidential candidates.  

 

NIL money and student-athlete transfers will quickly force realignment of major college sports into “big money”, “little money” and “no money” divisions.  Old guys like me will have less interest in watching college football and basketball, but there will still be a huge audience for these sports.  Turn the page.

 

2024 is on pace to be one of the worst tornado seasons in history.  Of course, this fits right into the climate change doom and gloom narrative.  And, no question, the climate is changing, always has and always will.  I just don’t think pushing everyone to drive EV’s is the answer.

 

The uproar over Harrison Butker’s commencement address at Benedictine University is just another sign of the times.  A devout Catholic speaking at a Catholic university to an audience that mostly appreciated where he was coming from, even if they didn’t totally agree with everything he said.  We should be more concerned about our government extending condolences to Iran on the death of Iranian President Ebrahim “The Butcher” Raisi.  

 

Watched Lonesome Dove again.  I’m well into double digit re-watches of that epic mini-series which could not be made these days.  It’s loaded with Racism, Toxic Masculinity, Cultural Appropriation, Animal Abuse and numerous images, words and deeds which would just upset too many people.  In other words, it’s a pretty accurate reflection of 1870’s American Frontier life (except the real thing was much worse.)

 

And then there is Memorial Day and this from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

Rest comrades, rest and sleep! The thoughts of men shall be

As sentinels to keep your rest from danger free.

Your silent tents of green we deck with fragrant flowers

Yours has the suffering been, the memory shall be ours.

Getting It Right

 

Watching the Pro-Palestinian/Anti-Israel protests on college campuses, I found it both interesting and highly disturbing how little these protesters actually know about the Middle East in general and the long-standing conflict between Jews and Palestinians in particular.  But I know better than to go down that rabbit hole, so this blog post is not about the Middle East mess.  Rather it is about how we should think about our beliefs.

 

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life.  Thankfully and by the grace of God, I’ve learned from them.  Most importantly, I’ve learned to ask the hard questions and seek the hard answers.  This is not an easy thing to do.  Human nature is more interested in fruit that looks good and tastes even better.  Consequences be damned.  But eventually, some of us learn that consequences will not be damned and certainly cannot be ignored.

 

Those life lessons have led me to ask these hard questions: 

 

_Is what I believe actually true and am I on the right path?

_Why do I believe it?

_If I am on the right path, what does it mean for how I live my life?

 

When I look at what’s going on in the world today, I see people asking similar questions but getting the wrong answers.  And I think that pretty much sums up the craziness we’re witnessing.  People believe something because it just “feels” right, or someone has told them it’s right or they just need to believe it for selfish reasons.  The American Civil War is a classic example.  Southerners believed things about slavery, black people and states’ rights that were just wrong.  But they certainly believed they were right and went to war to prove it.

 

History is essentially about groups of people thinking they are right and their opponents are wrong.  In most cases there is right and wrong on both sides of the argument.  Unfortunately, those who are mostly right don’t always win the argument.  Sometimes those who are mostly wrong win…at least for a while.  And even when those who are mostly right end up winning, it’s not likely to be a “win-win” for everybody.  Life is hard and it’s also short.  No one gets everything right all of the time.  The best we can hope for is that we get most of it right for as many of us as possible for as long as possible.  

 

“Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.” – Theodore Roosevelt