Bernie Sanders, please don't be Ralph Nader 2016

Holy Hanging Chads, I am terrified!

I heard on the news that Bernie Sanders supporters are urging him to run as a Green Party candidate if he doesn't (and it appears he won't) get the Democratic Party's nomination.

This is terrible news if he decides to go along with the idea.  Unless the Republicans also spin off an independent campaign, this could let Trump (gasp!) win the election and become our next (and maybe last) freely-elected President.

The unthinkable will become reality.

Ralph Nader, with nothing but good intentions and essentially correct ideas managed to aid and abet the debacle that was Bush Junior's administration through stubborn refusal to see the clear and present danger of his times.

Please Bernie (and your supporters), please don't fail to see it this time.  Please put love of your fellow countrymen ahead of ideology, at least this time around.

Real Reality

Let me confess up front ... I like the Daily Show, Late Night With Colbert, John Oliver, and just about any show that let's me take in and then laugh off the craziness that is Our World.

Laughter is the best medicine, right?

It does our minds and hearts good to listen to expert satirists convert our anxieties over Russia's Throw-back Thursday Soviet-style military provocations into smirks and grins. A good joke about Trump's resemblance to Mussolini can ease our fears of his resemblance to Mussolini.

You get the concept.  After a tense day of news, we get to view it comically and feel unburdened.

We all get it, and we enjoy it.  Heck, at times I think I really NEED it.

So it may come as a surprise when I claim that all of this laughter is doing us a disservice.  In fact, it may be leading us unwittingly into a very dark era.

My premise is that we've reached a place in the history of our nation and of the world where diffusing our anxiety, fear, frustration, and anger with comedy may be keeping us from getting done what must be done.  It might be that satirical relief has become our collective opiate to the pain we feel when we learn what our leaders are doing (or not doing), and the consequences of their (in)action.

So let's ease up a little on our self-medicating with TV for a while - at least until this election cycle is over, and vow to wallow a bit in the harsh news fed to us.  Let's use the energy of our anxiety to ensure we learn as much as we can about the issues and vote well in the local primaries and in the National Election this November.  We owe it to ourselves NOT to sleep-walk through this in an ironic haze.

Timing is ...

either a miracle or a bitch ...

Barely a month ago,  I was on a business trip that took me for three days to Brussels.  I stayed at the airport Sheraton and had morning coffee in a cafe in the check-in area of the airport.  My stay was pleasant and uneventful.  Just last Tuesday some crazed jihadists turned that same place into a war zone, with death and destruction blighting the same spaces I occupied just a while before.

And the calls can be even closer ...

I took my family to London in 2005 during Wimbledon Week.  We toured the city using the underground, mixing with commuters and other tourists alike, and had a great time.  Four days after we left, terrorists bombed the same trains we had ridden.

And closer ...

My cousin once worked in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  He was late to work on September 11, having worked late the night before. He stepped out of the subway just in time to see his building hit.

Less than a year ago I was riding my favorite mountain road on my favorite motorcycle when I tipped into one of my favorite right-hand curves ... and there was a car pulling across my lane and towards me from the shoulder. I swerved and he braked enough that nothing touched, I lived, and he wasn't burdened with the guilt of being a homicidal dumb-ass.  Just a few tenths of a second slower on my part, or quicker on his, and the situation would have been much different.

And some calls sadly aren't missed ...

On 9/11, a work colleague of mine boarded a plane from Washington DC to head home to Los Angeles.  She had been asked to delay her flight to continue business discussions, but she was determined to get home to be with her 5-year old son. Her flight and her life ended at the Pentagon.

In 2008, a well-known and well-loved fellow motorcyclist was rounding one of his favorite bends when a car full of young kids searching for a campsite pulled out from a spot hidden by trees and right across his lane. The choices of timing that led him to be where he was and those kids to do what they did within the same moment, took him from this life.

Sometimes timing is in our hands; usually not ...

In the moments just described, there was some choice in the timing of events and that choice was either fortunate or fatal. But most often outcomes depend on someone else's timing, not our own.  Those commuters on the Brussels metro and the London underground didn't have much choice of where they'd be and when they'd be there; the bombers' timing determined the outcome.

So what do we do?

In this world our fates often hinge on the tiniest changes in the timing of events.  All we can do is look back on fortunate escapes with the sober reflection and happy celebration they deserve, and mourn those who were caught up in events where timing was against them.

Most of all, we should revere time for all the opportunity it provides to us:  to be with our friends and family, to do meaningful work, to experience wonder and pleasure, to take exciting risks, and sometimes even to reflect somberly on the vagaries of life and time.

Forgiveness

Sometimes, it's all you can give ...

For a brief moment today I believe I caught a glimpse, a whisper of understanding, of why one of my heroes decided to leave this world early.  No, I don't think I've suddenly developed clinical depression, nor did I come close to suicidal thought, but I do believe I've peered through a grimy window into that dark space; so, spirit of Robin Williams, forgive me thinking less of you when I should have known better.

And (this will sound politically incorrect), as I ask for forgiveness I also give it to you for doing what I and many others considered an ultimately selfish act.

Forgiveness usually means you have found a way towards empathy, have put your feet in the shoes of the person you wish to forgive, and now understand enough to do so.

With me today, it was a convergence of events, each of which would seem trivial to onlookers, that brought an emotional undertow which for a moment seemed so irresistible that it felt best to just follow it down the rabbit hole.  I don't know exactly what's down there, but my best guess would be a place where yesterdays are all bittersweet and tinged with regret, and tomorrows are dark with no promise of sunrise.

Luckily for me, the feeling didn't take too firm a hold, and now its gone (this writing has helped).  I was clearly not in the same danger as people who experience a chemical dysfunction and who for that reason can't stop their own fall without medical help.  How horrible would it be to live in that place, and how great the desire to escape?

So maybe my experience wasn't really that close to what people like Robin Williams with true clinical depression experience, but it's helped me deepen my resolve to help those in whom I recognize this dark place; to forgive them and most importantly, help them forgive themselves.

Donald Trump and The Great Divide

Or ... just what are we doing here folks?

The simple reality is that Donald Trump has so far dominated the early Republican nominating process, with the subsequent removal from the running of two of the favored 'moderates' - Chris Christie and Jeb Bush.  (Christie may end up on the ticket as VP or get a sweet cabinet deal, but that's another story).

I write this ahead of 'Super Tuesday' in which many hope Trump will get his overdue comeuppance, so if by the time you read this he's gone down in defeat, perhaps we all can breathe a sigh of relief.

Or maybe not.

We have to ask ourselves what his success so far means, even if that success ultimately falters. How has such a Barnum-style showman and long-running topic of satire suddenly become a politician to be taken seriously?  Why do voters overlook his many miscues and obvious lack of required understanding and still cheer him on?

One possible theory is The Donald is the living embodiment of the massive disconnect between the politics of both parties and the true heart of American life.  That his popularity reflects our disenchantment with the political divide that has grown between the Republican and Democratic parties.  This theory holds that people are tired of a divisive debate that is wrapped in convoluted language that sounds high-minded but ultimately is just the sound of two 'parties' circling the drain.

In this theory Trump supporters are voting for absolute transparency in thought and intention, in other words they want someone who calls it exactly as they see it without obscuring filters, so everyone can understand.  And they hope this approach will lead to ... what?  More togetherness?  Or clearer battle lines?

The other possible theory is the people truly see him as the new Ronald Reagan, an entertainer turned politician who didn't know that much himself, but who some believe had the right instincts and surrounded himself with talented people who could make things happen.   The Ronald/Donald connection would mean that people trust him, even given that he's a multi-divorced, multi-bankrupted, big business mogul which without any doubt means he's been devious and purposely misleading many times.  (Just business, right?)

This theory has Trump supporters basically 'rolling the dice' on how he'd behave as President.  Forget what he is actually saying and trust he'll get it right when the time comes.

No matter which of these theories - or both, are correct, the ultimate result is that our electorate is becoming more divided than at any time in living memory. 

Hillary and Bernie, Sittin' in a Tree

K-i-s-s-i-n-g?

Would a Hillary Clinton - Bernie Sanders, or Sanders-Clinton ticket be possible?  To fans of Sanders, seeing Clinton as President, even with their cantankerous, opinionated but-oh-so-right Uncle Bernie as VP, would be unthinkable.

Most see Mrs Clinton as a sort of ultimate sell-out, or perhaps the ultimate mole; a closet middle-of-the-road Republican paying lip-service to progressives while accepting money from all the wrong places (ideologically speaking). A Clinton Presidency, they feel, will leave them with more of the same they endured during the Obama administration, which in their opinion deleted promised progressive goals in favor of a compromise with the political right that never materialized - in fact, it worsened.

Clinton proponents see Bernie Sanders as a Man With Some Good Ideas, but who is too extreme to get elected.  Most Hillary fans support her because they feel she has the experience and the toughness it takes to be President.  And because they feel she can somehow work with the extremists in the political right better than Sanders - or Obama.  But they also support her by pointing to the candidates who might be our next leader if they faced Sanders in the election instead.  To many Hillary supporters, and I suspect to much of the Democratic Party, a vote for Bernie is tantamount to a vote for Trump (or Cruz), and who wants to risk that outcome?

But for Hillary fans, unlike Bernie's followers, a Clinton-Sanders ticket might be palatable.  Clinton would be the one facing off Trump (or Cruz, or Trump-Cruz), with Bernie there to bring in the progressives while remaining relatively under control.

It's fun to speculate about the top two Democratic candidates pairing up for the ticket in November, or who, if not each other, they'd choose for their running mates.  Not many people are talking about this now, but I certainly hope some bright minds in the Donkey Party are at least thinking about it.

The Election 2016: Canada (or Australia) Ho!

When the going gets tough .... move to Canada (or maybe Canberra)

Way back in the last millennium, at the start of the first Bush ('41') presidency, I thought this country had turned a dark corner and seriously considered a move to Canada, or even better because it was further away, Australia.  I considered this because I felt Bush No1 would move us into a warlike, confrontational stance with the rest of the World, but more importantly because I felt he was intent on continuing the Reagan work of dismantling every bit of social progress our country had made during the 60's and 70's - progress earned at great cost.  In the end I didn't make that move because my family were all here, and damn it, we had been here for 400 years (longer if you count the small splash of Native American mix in my ancestry). I would not move for Johnny-come-lately upstarts like the Bushes!

As it turned out becoming a political refugee from an unlivable Republican regime wasn't necessary.  George Herbert Walker Bush was a pragmatist at heart and acted accordingly, for the most part.  He ended up neither too socially conservative, nor too warlike.  True, he did get us unnecessarily into the Gulf War, but he didn't pursue the conquest of Iraq as many expected.  It's also true he was a social conservative, but then he raised taxes when necessary despite the fact that cost him any chance of winning a second term.  In the end he didn't advance the development of American civilization, but neither did he send it hurtling down the Time Tunnel back to the 19th Century.

Its a bit of a shame then that we won't get a chance to see if the third of the Bush presidential aspirants - Jeb! - could be as pragmatic as his Father.  Maybe its best that we don't run the risk that he'd turn into a warlike puppet of neocon ideology like his brother GW, but without this last Bush in the mix we could be facing an even scarier prospect: Trump or Cruz.  Both are running far ahead of Jeb B in the polls - and ahead of every other candidate too.

How do I state this without Screaming Loudly as I type - electing either Cruz or Trump would be the beginning of the end of an open and civilized society in our portion of North America.  Either of those two would bring the United States towards a disintegration more permanent than the Civil War.

But wait you say; cool your jets!  Neither of them have a hope of beating the Democratic Party's probable candidate, Hilary Clinton, right?  So what does it matter if either run against her?

My response would be to remind you just how prone to political missteps the Clintons can be, and who knows what mess might lie ahead to derail what we think now is inevitable?  What if Bernie Sanders, despite his avowed Socialism and his age (he'd be the oldest person ever elected to the office) beats Clinton to the nomination?  Do you think he'd appeal to Independents and those moderates in the Republican Party (there are still a few) who themselves fear Cruz or Trump?  Maybe, but I doubt he'd be as palatable an alternative as Hilary.  I'd hate to find out who those potentially deciding, still-pragmatic conservative voters fear most - an avowed leftist or a possible fascist.

So I am going to hold out hope that Republican primary voters prove wiser than the polls indicate, and pick a candidate that - if they won the Presidency - wouldn't totally alienate all of us in the Democratic camp.  After all, if we want to keep this United States one great, united, and free land, we've got to work together, and that means both parties need to nominate candidates that either side could tolerate.  Cruz and Trump would not be that.

Or we can plan start planning our migration to Canada - or Australia, now.

OK, speaking of being pragmatic ...

Canada has far fewer poisonous creatures slithering and crawling about, but is a block of ice six months a year (or used to be, pre-Global Warming). Australia has cute Koalas, lovely Parrots, and the Great Barrier Reef.  Both have semi-shaky governments in transition at the moment, and the political winds are blowing crazily in both countries.  Hmm .. how much room is left in Sweden?