72. Election night 2016

Previous - 71. Election 2016 + Alice

After voting

I'm trying to avoid the news. By habit, I clicked on The Chron's website and saw that the Presidential election was close in key states... the way it's looked all along. I'm going to ignore it tonight while I still can.

My assumption all along has been that Trump would win. I hoped to be wrong, but that would surprise me. The worst part is that I think it may be necessary for Trump to win. People who think more-or-less like I do aren't going to make allowances for Trumps constituency until we are forced to. The question is, will this be too much for the American experiment in democracy? 

On the other hand, another question is how will Trump deal with the visibility and inherent problems of holding a really impossible office. This could turn out to be a "Be careful what you wish for" situation. I've always said you had to be crazy to want the job, now we get to see how a crazy person handles it. The historian in me is curious.

And is there a way to achieve some kind of synthesis from our current dialectic? Can we find a way to peacefully find a middle ground or will we follow the example of the Roman Republic and descend into a cycle of violent swings from one extreme to another? Frankly, I don't see how this has a happy outcome.

And here's a really depressing thought: It could be best that it isn't the side with all the guns that comes out of this election feeling cheated.

Post Script

I still don't know the outcome, still avoiding all media. As influenced by the Roman Republic as the Founding Fathers were, they were also the children of the Enlightenment so they neglected to include the Roman institution of Dictator in our constitution. When the Roman people went nuts, or the military situation was especially dire, the Senate would appoint a Dictator to reestablish order. And it usually worked... until Caesar came along and it didn't. We may get a chance to see if this was another of their mistakes, like the 2nd Amendment -- though I still don't see how anyone can interpret those words the way they are currently interpreted.

Next - 73. Aftermath + retirement