As I began yoga practice this morning, I was in a dark place having just watched the news with my coffee. Thanks to Adriene though, the clouds parted and my abject anger dissipated. My mind cleared and a series of thoughts occurred.
What if Tom Brady and the New England Patriots refused to accept the final score of a Super Bowl they lost based upon no credible evidence what so ever? What would you think of him…of them? What would happen if prior to the big game he insisted they would win, and if they didn't it would be because the other side cheated? How would this reflect on the game if he complained about the officials, or instant replay or home field advantage even though they play at a neutral site? What would people think of him if he said that the half-time show was too long? Or too short? What would you think if he constantly kept on repeating the same thing to anyone who would listen? That they really had won. That the score meant nothing. And what if the losing team stormed the post-game ceremony and took the championship trophy by force?
The analogy is not meant to insult anyone, especially Tom Brady or the Patriots. Yet there are those who would believe that the rules of our recent election were somehow changed to favor one side over the other. They claim mail in voting tipped the scales unfairly. What they don’t want to hear are facts. Facts like North Carolina set a record for mail in ballots. And in case you don’t know or care, the fact is Trump won that state. Well before the election, the former reality TV host groomed his followers with the message that if he lost it would be because the election was rigged. And now those are the folks who are convinced and will hear nothing else.
I understand people are frustrated over things of which they have no control. No one can control time. The United States, the world, is moving forward. It will never go back. But back to what? I just don’t understand what people are thinking we might go back to, but I digress.
Being malcontent is a result of dissatisfaction, but anger and violence are choices. Everyone has a right to his or her own opinions, but not their own facts. We have heard that before. But the armchair quarterbacks, in this case armchair politicians, offer no realistic solutions to the very real problem of delusion and disillusionment by so many people who will not rationally and logically consider what they are doing for themselves will harm their fellow citizens. And if the answer to the proposition is, they don’t care about anybody that disagrees with them, then what can be done about that? It seems they want to found their own nation and exterminate all opposition.
Storming the Capitol may have made for tense reality television, but at what cost. One death would have been too many and the toll now stands at five. You say they are fighting for Freedom. Who’s Freedom?
If they truly want to help then they should become election observers or volunteer with their local board of elections. Run for office. Enter the debate with peace and good will. Not with banners, slogans and flags like an angry mob seeking to usurp the entire best chance the world has ever had at the evolution of our species both socially and politically.
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