You don’t want to be on the other end of a call with me to a vendor (cell phone, cable, credit card, airline etc.) when the person says to me “I am sorry you feel that way.” I immediately unleash my standard answer to them “This is not about feelings; this is not a Democratic Party coffee klatch. This is a business call and I am expressing thoughts.” The aftermath of this election has shown the difference in this country is largely those who want to satiate their feelings versus those with actual thoughts.
The campaign slogans themselves epitomize this. Trump’s was Make American Great Again. This is a thought. A call to action. Clinton’s was Stronger Together. If you can discern what that means, it is feeling. Warm and cuddly, but not an act or a thought.
If all elements of this society were thinking, then this should not have been a close election. President Obama had eight years to lead this country. Though he (until the dire end) tried to blame his feeble economic results on Bush, Obama was the person in charge. Though his party attempted to still pitch the idea that they actually cared about the common person, the results of the past eight years did not reflect that in their bank accounts. Thus, despite the rhetoric, they thought about it, rejected Obama’s anointed successor, and voted for real change. Some have noted they don’t believe Trump cares a lick about the average American. Whether that is true or not, it is certain Clinton did not.
During the campaign, Trump did what I had for 30 years encouraged every Republican candidate to do. He went into the minority neighborhoods (in this case black) and told them he actually was interested in their existence. He famously posed the question (about voting for him): “What do you have to lose?” The blacks must have heard what has been going on as their community has been suffering under the first black president. They thought about it and voted less for her, more for him and stayed home more.
Black Americans are sick of being told by their blind leadership that they should fall in line. The fact that the NAACP voted to support teachers’ unions over black children gives them food for thought. They saw the unemployment rate plummet and the crime rate soar in their communities. Feeling good about what their leaders told them clashed with what they thought about their daily lives and futures.
The hysteria about Trump’s comment regarding the southern border and harsh comments about some people who illegally cross that border did not fool the Hispanics. First they are not a homogenized group because their native language is Spanish. Talk to Salvadorans about Mexicans or Puerto Ricans about Cubans. They don’t all think the same. And many are legal residents here and don’t want a flood of cheap, illegal labor in the country. That is why Trump ended up with a higher percent of Hispanics voting for him than four years ago even with a bigger population of voters.
Yet, the Los Angeles Unified School District is offering counseling for their Hispanic students who are fearful because of Trump’s election. Their feelings. If they are here legally then they have nothing to fear; in fact, they should be gloriously optimistic – they may find a job. Thoughts. If they or their parents came here illegally they will finally have a policy that tells them what their status is in this country.
They have been made to feel good about their illegal actions. They have been given that beautiful name – Dreamers. Their feelings. Here’s a thought: there are 7.4 billion people in the world and a wild guess would say 80% of them would love to live in America. People dream all over the world of being in America. Why would they not? Most think and try to do it legally.
People marched in the streets (in deep blue states and deep blue cities) against Trump’s election because their feelings were hurt. He said mean things. These people have been taught they need to express their feelings if they are to be fulfilled. That is why college professors threw a temper tantrum and cancelled their classes because they felt the little snowflakes’ feelings would be hurt by the election. Hopefully, some students were thinking I want to get a job when I graduate and this professor is a joke and wasting my money. I think optimistically.
The press and Clinton campaign spent enormous energy telling us that our feelings should be hurt by Trump’s statements about this and that and that he should never be elected. Some Republicans even fell for that.
There are times for feelings. When your child comes home with an A on their spelling test. Or when they call you to tell you they may have met that wonderful person they want to spend the rest of their life with and they want you to meet that person. Or when you and your spouse share a special moment that makes your marriage so meaningful. Or when someone you care for finds out they have cancer or they pass away. Or when a group of soldiers unfurl a huge American flag as jets fly over and you sing the Star Spangled Banner. Those times are for feelings.
The American public thought the better of the election and elected Trump to take this country in a new direction. He and the Republicans have to produce or they will be tossed out on their ears in four years. I think.