Post Election Blues

Anne and I usually get up around 5-5:30 to walk the dogs. This morning it was rather a stretch to get out of bed after staying up till 12:30 to hear Obama give his acceptance speech. So seeing the old iclock say 5:30 didn’t exactly motivate me to place one foot after the other onto the floor and start moving into my bathroom and closet. Fortunately my Freckles, our pitbull-dalmation mix sprung up and leaped off of the bed.

As we pulled into our canal spot to park it was totally dark still and the moon didn’t help much at all. Our white duck, that usually greets us, wasn’t anywhere to be found. I had this sense that something was wrong but didn’t know exactly how to express it. I know in the bigger scheme of life that God is in control and that ultimately everything works together to accomplish his purpose. Yet, the outcome of this election has rocked many and their sense is that this is really the beginning of the end for America, as we know it. I know that the analysts are saying that nothing has really changed over the last week. We have the same blend of politics where both parties are at war with each other. No one really wants to pursue a path of compromise to actually see our deficit lessen, help the immigration issue to be directed on a course that will see resolve and hope given to millions.

As we finished our walk and loaded the dogs I knew that I still had to do my work for the day and couldn’t just disappear to throw a pity party or begin a protest somewhere that would get the media’s attention. We finally get Graham, our big dog, to jump into the truck and we head off to Starbucks. I am usually there each morning around 6:15am. Typically not too many are inside the store. I usually end up talking with the different baristas who have become good friends. One of the baristas, Danielle, was obviously living off of a couple of hours of sleep. I made some jokes and tried to get her attention but realized that she too was suffering from post election blues.

I can’t fathom how much money had been thrown into all of the different political races through out the country. I can’t fathom what would happen if all of the politicians were forced to do their campaigns with the same amount of funding and all of the super pacts were stopped from spending millions. The sad reality is that the majority of this advertising is totally negative and misleading. Yet, we are blessed to live in a country where there is freedom to express yourself and spend your money any way you choose.

We had a mentor group last night and ended talking about what it meant to be responsible and mature as a teen or as an adult. We ended up in an argument that focused on food stamps, welfare and government help. The perception, true or false, was that one of the presidential candidates was going to totally stop the services for the poor and the other candidate was truly a humanitarian. The point that we were trying to make is that at some point you have to step up, grow up and own your own life. I tire or arguments that always take the extreme positions and ignore the normal circumstances of life and what actually happens. Yes, I understand that we will always have a small percentage of our population that will not be able to work and deserve help both from the church and government on an ongoing basis. Yet, the reality is that most need to step up, get some training, get a job and learn to be responsible for themselves.

One of my interns noted that this was one of the more lively discussions or almost arguments. I some times tend to push the buttons of my teens or adults to force them to consider what they really need to be doing with their lives. I am learning that I can’t wait for life to happen but need to take responsibility for myself and not expect someone else to pay my way or cover for me when I mess up.

I had each of the interns talk about how they had been irresponsible in the last month. One of them shared about getting into a real fight with her roommate. This escalated to the point where she lost it and then had to ask her RA to intervene. She did the right thing and attempted to diffuse the situation. She apologized and sought to reconcile with her roommate. The challenge is that her roommate didn’t appreciate any of this action. This got the attention of quite a few of the gals who didn’t expect to hear this from her.

Yeah, life goes on and all of those who didn’t get elected or re-elected go back to normal life and have to adjust to something different from their whirlwind life over the last few months. I hope that ultimately all of us can see that God is more than able to work through the good times or bad times depending upon your perception. I know that there will be many that will say their vote didn’t count and it was really a waste of time. I totally disagree and am thankful that we live in a country where there are free elections.

Tomorrow we will take the dogs for a walk again and the moon will be up and the barista at Starbucks will have gotten a better night’s rest and will have a smile instead of a frown on her face. Life goes on regardless of who is in office.