Don't Worry, Be Happy
Chances are, that thing won't happen
There are equal odds that whatever we predict will happen - won’t.
The media is obsessing over the November 5th “match up” between President Biden and former President Trump. Reporters constantly run stories about polls. It feels like a horse race that will never end. Every little glitch or gaffe is a “breaking news” alert. All of this is more than irritating. It is a waste of our precious time.
Everything the pundits predict is just a guess. How many of the events of the last few years were predicted?
Hamas terrorists from Gaza would commit an atrocity against Israeli Jews that was larger and worse than anything since the Holocaust. Netanyahu would respond in the manner he has - and still be Israel’s leader.
Russia would invade Ukraine and reduce cities to cinders, raping and slaughtering civilians as well as losing hundreds of thousands of it’s own soldiers.
America (and the world) would experience a “plague”. Hundreds of thousands of us would die or experience long term damage to our ability to resume a reasonable life. Yet America would recover from the punishment of the Pandemic with an economy roaring faster than any other comparable country - no recession.
England would elect as prime minister a man of Indian heritage whose father was born in Kenya, his mother in Tanzania.
Thousands of Top Secret Documents would be discovered in the bathroom of an events hall in a Florida mansion owned by a former president.
A woman, who was sexually assaulted by a man who would become President, would be awarded over $80 million because he defamed her. And tens of millions of Christians with “family values” would continue to support him.
A judge would determine that Donald Trump and his sons had committed financial fraud and fined them a total of about $360 million. They have thirty days to come up with the money - cash or purchase an expensive bond (pledging real estate as collateral). And…they are barred from doing business in New York - he for 3 years, the boys 2 years. A “monitor” is assigned to watch over the organization.
What’s next? Get ready. We will be surprised. We spend hours and hours worrying about a future that will quite likely never happen. Here’s another example:
Watch for a new Netflix show called “Death by Lightning”. It’s based on a book by Candice Millard titled “Destiny of the Republic”. It is a really well written story about a rarely discussed piece of our history. James Garfield was not supposed to be assassinated, of course. But nor was he supposed to be president. He didn’t run for the office. He DID NOT ask for the job. His responsibility at the Republican nominating convention of 1880 was to introduce John Sherman, a leading contender. But after 35 ballots that failed to arrive at the required 379 vote majority, the contenders shifted their support to Senator James Garfield of Ohio. 35 times, Republicans thought they were about to nominate someone else.
To confidently assume that President Biden and Donald Trump will be facing off in November is to defy history and the things we can’t predict.
On March 31, 1968 Lyndon Baines Johnson announced that he would not be running for re-election to the presidency.
So let the pundits predict and pontificate. Let them conduct their click bait useless polling based on the mood of the moment - calls made to landlines that most people don’t answer.
In the meantime, please find every young person you can and send them this website. Or share this app. Insist that they vote - despite any reservations about age or international events. Beg them. Implore them. Shame them. Drag them. Kidnap them. Whatever you have to do. Get them to vote. This will be the big one. (Or not!)
It doesn’t matter who is at the top of the ticket. It is a choice between democracy and fascism. VOTE BLUE no matter who.
Vote.org is terrific tool to use in your conversations with young people who haven’t registered to vote yet. It’s a great way for habitual non-voters to check to see if they are still registered. And for those who have moved or think that their registration may have been purged - it’s a simple way to remedy that concern.
Or….send them here for a terrific app that gets the job done.
“TurnUp is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and mobile app that comprises the largest youth-led voter registration and turnout initiative.”
Read this book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10335318-destiny-of-the-republic
Look at the cast!
https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-announces-new-drama-series-death-by-lightning-starring-michael
And then have some fun:
Well done, Bill! The only poll that matters is the one on November 5, and the only opinions that matter are the ones of eligible voters who actually vote. Educating and motivating people to register and vote to protect their interests is the most important thing we can do.
Ciao from Italy! Thanks so much for this! Just a reminder to all of your readers that US citizens living or studying abroad CAN VOTE! In fact there are an estimated 6.5 million of us living outside the US!. If you know anyone living or studying abroad, send them to https://votefromabroad.org to request their overseas ballot. Our votes can be the margin of victory in tight races!