The Day After: Is This Thing On?

Hello.

Hello.

Is this thing on?  Can you hear me?

On Tuesday I got real mad about the government.  Things that I usually mumble at the internet or the radio came spilling out all over Facebook.  I try to keep my Facebook G-rated and middle-of-the-road when it comes to politics.  I follow (and never "un-friend") some pretty conservative people.  I'm open-minded and I like to hear what people think and even try their opinions on.  It's a form of respect for diversity.  It's a way to learn.  It inspires questioning of my own political dogma.  And it's a way to stay out of the echo chamber.

Clearly, with a few exceptions, I was preaching to the choir and will most likely continue to do so, if I'm fortunate enough to pick up a few blog followers.

I like government.  Of course there are anecdotal horror stories of waste, fraud, and abuse.  Systems to control them are complex and cumbersome.  But I like roads and schools and public transportation and clean water and people who are smarter than me keeping an eye on people who are greedier than me and people who are smarter than me keeping an eye on people who want to create giant fireballs of destruction and people who are braver than me making sure the fireball-creators don't get out of hand.

Is it just me?  I don't think so.

Over 61,000,000 people voted for President Obama in 2012 (more than 50%; which in presidential politics, is not all that common).  In contrast, about 4.5 million people voted for Ted Cruz, and that is statewide in the second largest state in the union.  I'm thinking at least a few of those 4.5 million are not so thrilled right now.