The Face of a Winner!

I wrote that I did not have a sense how this one would go. That’s not entirely true. I did have a feeling regarding the election. When I left church late Monday evening I had an eerie, disquieting feeling that we were on our own for this one.

I am greatly disappointed with the results. Not so much because Barack Obama is our President rather than Mitt Romney, but because it is very clear now what our country is. And, oddly, I am also very grateful for that clarity. I much prefer clarity to uncertainty. All along I was grateful for having two obviously different candidates (including Vice Presidents and campaigns) to choose from.

The campaigns were obvious and distinct and the candidates were clear and distinct. Even when the candidates obfuscated they were clear and blatant in their obfuscation. Anyone who cared to know how either man would lead, or what either man believed could learn the truth. It was all out in the open. The media coverage was ubiquitous and pervasive and from myriad sources; from mutli-million dollar global organizations like Reuters to individual Americans with cellphone video cameras.

America was offered a very clear choice. I loathe what David Axelrod thought of my fellow countrymen and women but, to his credit, he was right. David Axelrod has a clearer perception of the make-up of America than I do. At least 50% of the population can be manipulated by his strategy, or, even worse, agrees with his vision. In the 2008 campaign I thought the speech he orchestrated in Berlin would be Barack Obama’s downfall. Surely Americans would find such hubris offensive. And the acceptance speech in the stadium in Denver, with the columns?! It was like a bad, B movie about a Central American Dictator. I knew Americans wouldn’t fall for that. But Barack Obama won. By a landslide. I told myself it was history. The idea of an African American as President was just too wonderful to resist (and it is wonderful) and Americans voted for the history of it; not for the man or the campaign.
And in this campaign the Berlin speeches and podiums with fake emblems and plastic, Doric columns couldn’t work. Barack Obama had been President for three years and had a record. So David Axelrod thought he could win the country by dividing it; pitting Americans against Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan with false messages. Despite both being demonstrably generous, caring and hard working men, David Axelrod told us they were greedy and heartless. Despite both being sincere and admirable sons, husbands and fathers, David Axelrod told us they were misogynists. Surely Americans would see through such obvious demagoguery.
I am grateful for the lesson I learned yesterday. I wish with my whole heart that it was not so, but it is what it is and wishing it otherwise does not change it. I lost something yesterday and I don’t think I’ll ever get it back. Today, when I step on an elevator I wonder if the person next to me hates me because I dress like a businessman, live in a decent home, earn a decent living… I now know a majority of my countrymen do not believe I deserve my life, did not earn it, do not believe “I built that.”

I have never been overly interested in politics. I suppose I have focused on it a great deal the last 15 years or so because I felt that if I understood it better I could help others learn how to achieve success. I guess I fell for the siren song of political collective salvation. I feel strongly now that it is time for me to ignore politics. Nobody in Washington DC, or Sacramento, or Austin, or Augusta, or Pierre can grant us liberty. It is there if we choose to take it, but we must choose. I now understand that a majority of the people who live in this country do not choose to take it. Do not want it. I wish them well, but they have made their choice and I have made mine. And I know I am not alone. There are tens of millions like me and there always will.

I will continue to devote myself to my family and anyone I encounter who I can help, but I’m done with politics. This is not an indictment of those who devote their lives, or a portion of their lives to politics. It can be a noble calling. Thank God for people like Paul Ryan! It is just not my calling. I have learned what I needed to learn and it is time for me to move on. I hope some of the things I have written here have helped some of you as you searched for answers. I have learned a great deal from this site and all of you. If I gave back 10% of that then we’re even! I will intentionally avoid this place for a bit, but if any of you need me do not hesitate to e-mail. I am truly grateful for all of your help. And, I’ll certainly try to pop in every once in a while with bad puns and worse attempts at humor. You are great people! Thanks for your fellowship.

Rufus T.

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