Election Fever
Election Fever
Before you get all bent out of shape and unsubscribe from this newsletter, let me make it abundantly clear that I have no interest in changing your mind about which sociopathic candidate is the spawn of Satan or which one is less sociopathic and, therefore, the coming Messiah. My feeling is that they’re all flawed individuals, no more or less so than you and I.
That said, I wrote an article a few weeks ago about traversing my hometown at this same time of year in 1972. Back then, the vast majority of yards in this city were adorned with political campaign signs for every office from city council to president, and those signs meant little more to me than fodder for a good prank. Things have changed since then. Where have all the yard signs gone? (Some folksinging trio ought to use that line in a song.)
Apart from the positive environmental impact, I’m saddened by the dearth of yard signs in this election. It used to be no big deal for a person to display a “Republican Sociopath for Office” sign in their front yard while sharing in a backyard cook-out with their next-door neighbor who was sporting a “Democrat Sociopath for Office” sign in their front yard.
Somehow, we’ve reached the point of hyper-sensitive emotionalism where we can no longer tolerate neighbors who dare to think differently that we do. Is it because we’re not entirely sure the politician we support isn’t really a psychopath? (Admit it; you just pictured someone on the other side of the aisle when you read that sentence.) Or is it because we’re so unsteady in our own beliefs that any disagreement pushes our paranoia button?
Is your favorite media outlet more truthful than mine? Or do they just bolster your confirmation bias in a way that mine only does for me? And how on Earth did we get to the point of confronting every divergent perspective with a threat to “pick up our toys and leave the party”? Is anybody really emotionally unbalanced enough to abandon the country with the highest standard of living on Earth just because they don’t like the man or woman in the White House?
If you know someone who is actually serious about that threat — especially if they’re currently driving a late model Ford pickup or own some nice woodworking equipment — call me and we’ll go to the estate sale together. Otherwise, I’ll see you at Academy Sporting Goods this weekend when we’re all stocking up on ammunition, freeze-dried food, and survival gear.
And, no, I am not the person who drew the Satanic horns and pointy goatee on your Angie Chen Button yard sign. But you have to admit, it was pretty classic.
Let’s talk. I’d really like to hear what you have to say, and it might even give me something to write about. Email me at guy@lawsoncomm.com.
I’ll buy you coffee and we can compare notes. I promise not to steal your ideas without permission.
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while or the light won’t come in.
— Alan Alda
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Unoffendable
— Brant Hansen
This book should be mandatory reading for every high school senior. It might prepare them for the kaleidoscope of personalities they’re about to encounter in college or in the corporate world. It might better prepare us all for encountering a world not designed to our egos’ specifications. My friend, Shon, recommended this book two years ago. I’ve read it three times now and it still challenges me every time I reread it.
A meeting of great minds who think alike
