Whew! How's the Water?

 I am grateful that the US Presidential election turned out the way it did.  Nina and I were seriously disturbed by the Trump administration; we've been quite stressed, not sleeping well, and having fantasies of revolution and violence.  I know we're not alone. I am relieved but wish the Biden victory would have been greater, more decisive, in order to show Trump and his minions how much they were disliked.  However, over 71 million people, 47.7% of the voters, chose him. For the past four years I've attributed the 2016 election result of people voting for Trump to a significant group that didn't like Hillary and didn't understand how unqualified Trump was to be President. I assumed that many of those 2016 voters would now see the light. Joe Biden is likable by about everyone; he fits the stereotypical model of the older white male with a qualified resume; and Trump was now a known entity.  I was wrong and I really don't know why I am wrong.  Me and over 75 million other voters don't understand the 71 million Trump supporters and I bet they don't understand me.

David Foster Wallace gave a commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005 that turned into a small book called This is Water. I'd read it a number of years ago and it came to mind when pondering these two bubbles of American citizens who don't understand each other at all. He uses some cryptic stories that illustrate our problem. He offers some explanations about individual's templates and beliefs. He posits that some of a person's world view comes because we're hardwired but that people are also "arrogant and certain of their own interpretations... Blind certainty, a close-mindedness that amounts to an imprisonment so total that the prisoner doesn't even know he's locked up." You can find the speech on YouTube or the whole transcription at  This is Water

David Foster Wallace goes on to say that we have control over how we think about things. "It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed." I think many of the people in both groups of voters in this election are caught up in their own world views, hardwiring based on how and where you were raised and the experiences we've had.  And, indeed you should admit to yourself that arrogance is a factor in your choices of what you choose to think about and believe.  

Dave Chappelle was on SNL last night and had a great monologue with some hard truths and advice. We have to recognize that both groups have had terrible feelings of anguish. Chappelle suggests we have to, "Find a way to live your life. Find a way to forgive each other. Find a way to find joy in your existence in spite of that feeling."  

Amen