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Friday, July 16, 2021

I'm deeply envious that I did not write this, and I feel a debt to Brad Torgersen for putting down my thoughts in his words.

Brad R Torgersen

Of course, the most disturbing thing about the audits is not the fact that honest mistakes were compounded by what appears to be dishonest ballot-meddling, it's that millions of Americans (including a great many powerful, influential, prestigious, and wealthy individuals) simply don't care, or don't think it's a problem.  They detested and loathed the sitting President, and anything which helped to make him go away was fine and dandy.  The ends truly justified the means.

Folks, I've said on my wall before I was (and still am not) any kind of fan of Donald Trump.  I didn't vote for him in 2016, nor did I vote for him in 2020, and I still have a colossal beef with both the (R)s and the (D)s for giving us Trump/Clinton in '16 and Trump/Biden in '20—as if these truly were the best possible choices for national leadership.

So, my concern is not whether Trump wins in each and every scenario.  I don't really care about Trump, nor his fate.  My concern is that the people who hated Trump hated him *so* much, they gave themselves permission to do what is explicitly NOT PERMISSIBLE in a functioning republic.

They okayed themselves to cheat.  To lie.  To spread the lie via willing media mouthpieces.  To attempt to block investigations and audits.  To further cast aspersions on the methods and motivations of those conducting the investigations and the audits.  And to lambast any common citizen who does not trust the November results.  To label that citizen crazy, stupid, evil, or some combination thereof.

This is tragic.  Because the integrity of our American elections ought to be a nonpartisan issue.  Everyone involved ought to be able to trust the technology, processes, and checks.  But for the entirety of this young century, that trust has eroded each and every cycle.  To the point where I am not sure *anyone* is going to be happy with 2022 or 2024.  Regardless of the outcome.  Because once people become convinced the vote is rigged (whichever way you care to see it) their willingness to abide by the results of that vote, evaporates.

Why is this bad?  Our nation only functions with shared government as long as people believe elections are fair, honest, can stand up to scrutiny, and that nobody's got their thumbs on the scales.

And I am now convinced a majority of Americans no longer believe this.  And I am not just talking Trump voters.  Remember, the same people insisting the 2016 election was hacked and that 2000 was stolen, are now insisting very, very loudly that it's *impossible* 2020 was hacked and stolen.  You are dumb, insane, and dangerous if you believe 2020 was rigged.  Shut up, you bigot!

So, what's the difference between a hacked and non-hacked election?  Stolen and non-stolen?  That you (ubiquitous) simply got your way?  Is that all??

If this is now the mindset of a majority of Americans, the Republic won't survive to see the end of the century.  Hell, I am not necessarily convinced we'll make it past the mid-point.  You cannot effectively govern in this atmosphere.  And it is an atmosphere being deliberately created by people who seem to believe the integrity of our elections isn't a big deal.  That cheating and fraud are just a necessary cost of doing business.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: I have all my life, 60+ now, wondered how anyone could tamper with any election and believe themselves to be a good person and an American. And if you believe the ends justify the means, why not just kill the oppponent?

JFM; July 18, 2021 at 3:47 AM

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Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"