Can’t We All Just Get Along

Dang, I’m not so sure anymore.

What a long, strange trip it’s been this week, and it’s only Wednesday!

Insert primal scream here.

It’s the day after General Election 2016 … and many are shocked by the result of the presidential race. What surprises and saddens me is both the hatred and fear being spewed on social media. Still. Today.

I tried to avoid as much of the media as possible this election season. Whether you prefer the coverage that leans to varying degrees of left or right, it’s all sensationalistic and skewed. What they choose to cover, how much time they devote to which stories, the tone and words they use – it all goes to promote their particular agenda. Which may just be ratings and money, but the surprise of the media last night was quite telling.

Yeah, I’ve tried to avoid the media. Living in the great state of Ohio, however, one pretty much needs to avoid all television and radio to avoid the political commercials. Oh. My. Gosh. People believe these? From any of the candidates? Seriously?

My version of burying my head in the sand this week has been listening to the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat. I had heard it before but finally got it downloaded to my phone over the weekend. Family sharing and “oh, you click on that over there, lol?” … it’s a good thing. Ah yes, let’s contemplate the founding fathers via showtunes. The birth of this nation was messy, passionate, ugly and beautiful at the same time, profound and profane, and full of both sinners and saints.

When’s the last time you found someone who was one hundred percent sinner or one hundred percent saint?

Hmmm?

Individual results and opinions may vary.

I also spent a couple days this week with one of my favorite two-year-olds. Toddlers really don’t care to discuss the election. It’s refreshing.

So if you’re feeling sad, anxious, angry, afraid, or distraught over the results (I’ve seen all those emotions expressed multiple times) … understand you are loved not hated. I don’t want to dismiss your feelings and tell you to just get over it (like I’ve also seen on the social media). Take a deep breath and work through it.

If you’re feeling like gloating over the results, I also urge you to take a deep breath and just don’t. Understand that half the country thinks differently from you, and that’s okay, and it’s not a war, it’s the democratic process.

And maybe all y’all should step back and listen to some showtunes.

I read a post this afternoon that said the election could be explained by … non-haters … who were tired of being told they are haters … turning out in large numbers to vote against the candidate of those who constantly call them haters.

Be careful with your generalizations.

People of faith (and those yet to come to faith) … God loves you, God loves them, God loves us all. Act like it please.

Tuesday evening while submitting myself to media coverage of the returns, I dared to make a non-partisan comment on a non-partisan post regarding the stock market futures. It was early on with no call anywhere close on a winner, so of course the market was responding negatively. My friend expressed concern over the drop and quoted some of the news coverage comparing the current drop to the September 2001 drop – the points were similar. Being a math nerd and knowing how the fearmongering news guys like to talk about stocks, I did some quick googling. The 2001 drop amounted to 7.1% and the futures drop last night was 4.1%. Yeah, a decent drop still. But the market hates uncertainty – something I’ve learned from long term investing and from an awesome financial advisor. It’ll recover. It’ll be fine. So I tried to ease my friend’s fears. A mutual friend chimed in later with a partisan comment something to the effect of it wasn’t about the stock market but about Christians ruining everything.

Okay then. Wow.

And no, I haven’t checked the Dow Jones today. That’s what I pay Jim the big bucks for.

I sometimes wonder if this latest election cycle, coupled with the prevalence of social media, has regressed our ability to communicate. The other day, after a looong day of toddler time, catching up on some reading, a networking event, and a stupid errand I had to run … I arrived completely and totally exhausted at home. It would have been after dark even if daylight savings time hadn’t just ended. I scrounged some food, hopped on the friend book, and an innocent comment brought on World War III or something. Um, oooookay, not sure where that came from, but I’m not anyone’s personal verbal punching bag.

Boundaries are a healthy thing. They’ve been put in place. Hopefully reason and lucidity will return soon. I long for a civil conversation.

Not so sure about this wifi code. Is it trying to communicate something to me?

Last week the phrase “God is in control” was an ongoing theme.

I participated in a Wednesday night study on the book of Revelation last year for several months. Some describe Revelation as “we win”. Indeed. But it’s a weird book. There’s a lot of strange imagery and symbolism. But the overarching theme I took away from that study is …

God is waiting as long as possible

for as many people as possible to accept him.

Do you think he should have rained down fire and brimstone and smited a bunch of people by now? Do you rejoice when “bad people” die? Or when “bad people” lose an election?

Jesus died for them as much as he died for you and "people like you".

God is in control.

Keep looking up.