Sol's Culture Wars

(Opinion) Both cultural Americas are still recovering from the shock of the election. Maybe some expected the stunning, one-sided outcome. Not me. Didn't know what was going to happen or not happen. Maybe some Harris diehard and Trump MAGA core felt certain, but for me, the mystery was stressful. All the negatives Donald Trump exhibits, the exaggerated claims, and nearly constant self-praising. Bombastic public comments, all meant to draw gasps or attention, the loose display of accuracy with half-truths and ambiguous context that the ravenous press devowers and regurgitates into nightly news. The seeming total lack of personal self-control or presidential gravitas. I could go on with this, Trump's negatives are numerous and self-evident. That said, it's also remarkably true that Trump somehow overcame a gauntlet of devastating blows against him and his family from a very corrupt and biased legacy media, a White House directed (yes, there is hard evidence) Justice Departmen...

A friend emphatically declares, "You're wrong!" To suggest the polling in this election was whack. I'm given the margin of errors argument, how most pollsters' numbers were still in the ballpark. Okay. Maybe it's how you define accurate. The aggregate of top polls all said, "close race." It wasn't close at all. No pollster predicted a sweep of popular vote along with Congress and number of states for Trump.  Meanwhile, nearly every big pollster UNDERCOUNTED the former president for the 3RD STRAIGHT ELECTION! Accurate must mean something else these days. Accuracy can't be true when well-documented pollster bias is conceded after every election. It's been a decades long trend to the left. THAT'S accurate? To me, pollsters have the same credibility as tea leaves. Betting platforms and equity markets are better scoreboards of public sentiment.

Administrations come and go. In between, the knee-jerk hubris and whacky drama are forgotten until the next campaign. This election, it may be argued  that the biggest loser wasn't even on the ballot. Yet, the vote tallies confirm how a clear majority of Americans feel today: legacy media was not to be trusted. Most voters disregarded legacy media's unabashed bias for Harris. A solid majority across all groups and demographics also rejected the amplified blast-broadcasting of dubious trials, stacked felonies, ballot challenges, and selective story censorship by social media. The lame legion of sanctimonious, self-anointed pundits, bought and sold pollsters, and narrative driven news editors, they all lost voters trust "bigly," perhaps permanently. The voters were very done with so-called experts this time around, and chose for more authenticity.

Even the bitter angst of political combat can not tear the sacred, enduring fabric of our amazing Republic. Freedom is alive and well the day after elections, liberty continues to frame our American experience. May the vitriolic battling and hard fought tests only prove the firm resilience of our unique system. May healing now begin for all.  What a rare blessing, to be part of a nation devoted to a Constitution written by divine magnitude, by the trust and strength of God's grace.

The Big Lie of American politics seems to exist as an invisible assumption, a mode of operation that by now many have seriously questioned. By our historical political structure, Americans are cleaved in half as if a defining blade chops down to the semblance of a centerline - but the face of this median is blank - why? Because, in fact, there is no cogent center to American politics, there is really no clear right or left. Me, I'm just a guy, another voter, fairly average in most respects. But, we can start with me, my own views, and where they may plot on the political chart. What party best describes me? There are just two major parties, but now the biggest group of voters are independent - so, how did that even happen? My own slate of perspectives can illustrate this dilemma: my views are all over the map! For example, I've always supported gay marriage, I consume cannabis, avoid alcohol, and I'd like to see America evolve beyond fossil fuel. I also support healthcare f...