I wrote once about these way-too-happy-all-the-time guys (it’s almost always men) who are eternally whistling, sauntering instead of walking, taking way too damned long to order lunch because they think the server genuinely wants to have a conversation, and so forth. Frequently there is overlap with Incremental Guy.
These people still piss me off more than anything else, and I’m not suggesting I’ve adopted anything like that kind of vibe when I say I’m feeling better about things day to day.
Not that I’m feeling upbeat and optimistic. Oh, no. Hervé Villechaize couldn’t have limboed under the bar we had set for presidential candidates, and we still managed to lower it—a bunch. Do you want to:
- Drown in 60 feet of water, or 80 feet of water?
- Jump out of the 70th floor, or the 50th floor?
- Hit the 18-wheeler head-on at 100 mph, or 90 mph?
We’re not getting a president even remotely suitable for the office this year.
I can’t recall being this despondent this far out, so I think I’m getting centered sooner than usual. And my grand comfort is two simple statements, one enveloped by the other.
The envelopee is that my responsibilities to live prudently, to support my family, and so forth do not change, no matter who sits anywhere in Washington. My ability to influence my immediate world remains pretty steady, and I’ve still got to pick the ball up and run with it every day.
The enveloper is that the Bible tells us several times to trust God. And it tells us even more times not to be afraid. It’s hard to remember in strange and unpredictable times that God has a plan, but—duh—these are the times we’re supposed to remember it most.
I’ll add an important corollary directive: please be patient with each other. Both your conservative friends and your liberal friends are a bit resentful right now. This should have gone better for each of them. It was a ridiculously deep and talented Republican field. So what did we do? We inadvertently turned the whole thing over to a carnival barker, because by the time we realized he was a genuine threat it was too late. And, supporters of Hillary are living with a real threat of a federal indictment, and if the hammer comes down today, what’s plan B?
We need to remember that though we may think some people have bad ideas, for the most part they’re not bad people. They are reasonable people who have simply reached different conclusions from the ones we’ve reached. Ever notice that the worlds we say we want tend to look pretty similar? We just disagree on the best way to get there.
I’ll be expanding on this idea in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned.
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