Guest column
Let’s see how this plays out
Chris Tersigni
Well, here we are again. Eight years after the Reign of Terror, and we presumably have a new foe. Trump hasn’t even taken office yet, and revolution & death threats abound. Ain’t America great?
When President Obama was elected, we were told to deal with it. We were told that he was “everybody’s” president, and to respect the office. We were told that the way forward involved diversity, multiculturalism, and some new kind of equality that had yet to be defined. Here I always thought that my parent’s simple rules about treating people with respect, and treating them how you would like to be treated was the way forward. How could I expect my parents to tell it to me straight? Them's the breaks, so I dealt with it, and managed fine. Now that that is over, many on the left can’t handle reality of the other shoe, a foot, or some such nonsense.
Before our current president, I never gave much consideration to people’s race, ethnicity or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, eye color or shirt size. Then a shift occurred, and these things were force fed to us all. People that didn’t agree with the president were “racist” rather than “opposing.” If people wouldn’t accept the homosexual lifestyle, Muslims, health care for the disenfranchised, illegal border crossings, 8-year-olds walking from Columbia to Texas looking for a better life, bathroom confusion and the occasional displaced frog looking for their desired brand of swamp water, they were branded with any number of characterizations, cleverly tailed with “phobia.” Nice.
I knew when President Obama told then-Attorney General Eric Holder to no longer enforce the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, running roughshod over the law, we were in for a bumpy ride. Mind you, it was a rotten piece of legislation (thoughtfully crafted under the Clinton administration) and needed to go the way of the dodo, but there is a legal process to manage these things, and the president couldn’t be bothered with that. Sure, the president got around to doing it right, but not before he had his way; a showcase of power. And with the precedent set, the lawlessness began. You see, we are a nation of laws, and for those who don’t understand that, there is a special consideration. We call it prison.
We’ve let political correctness destroy the fabric of our country. We’ve let radicals with no life experiences to shout down dissenting views, entitlement parasites continually begging for more, “fair share” arguments creating narratives of disparity and a thoughtful parade of kids telling us how we screwed things up for them (as if my generation received the country in great health). I’m just a guy looking for the fountain of “middle age,” trying to stay on two feet.
I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. I have been increasingly disgusted with the direction of our nation, and I wasn’t really crazy about his tone. I’ve only ever voted for one candidate; every other vote has been a protest. Our choices this time around were abhorrent, but that’s the game. Cover your ears – I’m about to offend – but good people seem to steer clear of politics. Here’s the rub: things have spun out so bad that a hyperbolic populist – who’s never even been elected dog catcher – wins the presidency first time out. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
My takeaway from this election is simple. The “machine” has broken, and I couldn’t be happier. By my reckoning, there has been a choke hold on this country since the '90s, and the hold has been severed. Four more years of “this” was not what most of the American electorate wanted – or needed. I have neither the ink nor real estate to describe the events driving us into the ditch the last score or so, but I’m grateful for a chance to turn this ship, to change our tack. Enough is enough. No more dynasties, no more choke holds. The machine has tapped out – for now.
I don’t have a crystal ball but I would say this to the ‘splody-headed liberals in full freak mode: Relax. The future hasn’t been written yet, so let’s see how this plays out. Your guy lost, and like it or not, the other guy won. You can either “deal with it” or it will deal with you. Try to play nice with the other kids.
When President Obama was elected, we were told to deal with it. We were told that he was “everybody’s” president, and to respect the office. We were told that the way forward involved diversity, multiculturalism, and some new kind of equality that had yet to be defined. Here I always thought that my parent’s simple rules about treating people with respect, and treating them how you would like to be treated was the way forward. How could I expect my parents to tell it to me straight? Them's the breaks, so I dealt with it, and managed fine. Now that that is over, many on the left can’t handle reality of the other shoe, a foot, or some such nonsense.
Before our current president, I never gave much consideration to people’s race, ethnicity or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, eye color or shirt size. Then a shift occurred, and these things were force fed to us all. People that didn’t agree with the president were “racist” rather than “opposing.” If people wouldn’t accept the homosexual lifestyle, Muslims, health care for the disenfranchised, illegal border crossings, 8-year-olds walking from Columbia to Texas looking for a better life, bathroom confusion and the occasional displaced frog looking for their desired brand of swamp water, they were branded with any number of characterizations, cleverly tailed with “phobia.” Nice.
I knew when President Obama told then-Attorney General Eric Holder to no longer enforce the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, running roughshod over the law, we were in for a bumpy ride. Mind you, it was a rotten piece of legislation (thoughtfully crafted under the Clinton administration) and needed to go the way of the dodo, but there is a legal process to manage these things, and the president couldn’t be bothered with that. Sure, the president got around to doing it right, but not before he had his way; a showcase of power. And with the precedent set, the lawlessness began. You see, we are a nation of laws, and for those who don’t understand that, there is a special consideration. We call it prison.
We’ve let political correctness destroy the fabric of our country. We’ve let radicals with no life experiences to shout down dissenting views, entitlement parasites continually begging for more, “fair share” arguments creating narratives of disparity and a thoughtful parade of kids telling us how we screwed things up for them (as if my generation received the country in great health). I’m just a guy looking for the fountain of “middle age,” trying to stay on two feet.
I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. I have been increasingly disgusted with the direction of our nation, and I wasn’t really crazy about his tone. I’ve only ever voted for one candidate; every other vote has been a protest. Our choices this time around were abhorrent, but that’s the game. Cover your ears – I’m about to offend – but good people seem to steer clear of politics. Here’s the rub: things have spun out so bad that a hyperbolic populist – who’s never even been elected dog catcher – wins the presidency first time out. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
My takeaway from this election is simple. The “machine” has broken, and I couldn’t be happier. By my reckoning, there has been a choke hold on this country since the '90s, and the hold has been severed. Four more years of “this” was not what most of the American electorate wanted – or needed. I have neither the ink nor real estate to describe the events driving us into the ditch the last score or so, but I’m grateful for a chance to turn this ship, to change our tack. Enough is enough. No more dynasties, no more choke holds. The machine has tapped out – for now.
I don’t have a crystal ball but I would say this to the ‘splody-headed liberals in full freak mode: Relax. The future hasn’t been written yet, so let’s see how this plays out. Your guy lost, and like it or not, the other guy won. You can either “deal with it” or it will deal with you. Try to play nice with the other kids.