“You Asked For It” – A popular TV shows in the 80s.
This brief message goes to this writer, the American press and other Democrats in the United States. It is no longer news now that the 2016 US general elections have come and gone. One of these elections was the presidential election that took place on November 8, 2016. The weird and controversial election produced President Trump who was sworn-in to the White House as the 45th president of the United States on January 20th, 2017. 2016 US general election was unarguably the most brutal elections in the US history; not in terms of physical war but unprecedented war of words and tantrums. America was abashedly pushed to the brink of self-immolation of its greatness and unmatched exceptionalism.
In a nutshell, penultimate the presidential primary election day, there were internal strives within the Democratic party that resulted from the feud between candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaigns. Hillary Clinton was the sly darling candidate of the Democratic party. Her political anointing from the establishment did incredible dissent among the Democratic party in the general election. The supporters of Bernie Sanders felt annihilated and disenfranchised because of this anointing. The stakeholders tried to appeal to the aggrieved supporters of Bernie Sander who lost in the primary to support the darling candidate-Hillary Clinton of the Democratic party.
Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders was a popular candidate among the youth and those who have unpalatable soup to cook with Clinton’s family. But, these aggrieved and disgruntled supporters of Bernie Sanders were fixated on their resentment of Hillary Clinton from the early days of voting up to the election day. Some of them vowed never to vote in the general election after Bernie Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton. It led to the calamitous loss of a crucial election in the history of the United States to a divisive man, who used the act of trade or business to win the general election.
Economists will attest to the fact that, marketing strategy and synergy are the best ways to win a potential customers in market spectrum. If you interject or apply this strategy to any election, you will have to psych and sync the thinking faculties of the potential voters – the plebeians. If you want to win the gullible people, you need to tell them what they want to hear; make utopian promises, you will be elected as as their leader. The higher the price of a commodity, the lower the quality demanded for it; and the lower the price, the higher the quantity demanded. Democratic party placed a big price on Hillary Clinton at the election, and we paid a heavy price. Republican placed lower price on Donald Trump, they are now the sore winners with asymmetrical position with the president.
The Democratic party jettisoned other nuances that can be used to win the crucial election. All these factors which include: race, gender, education and other factorials defined the democratic party, but we the Democrats left the biggest factor-the price. Our price in the Democratic party was too high. The Democrats including the Bernie Sanders’s supporters took so many things for granted through their self-defiance and self-defeating, they either stay at home by not voting, or complacent in mobilizing others to vote. The chicken has come home to roost, they are now teething their mouths complaining about the winner, Donald Trump.
The monstrosity of the press contributed to Trump’s victory. American media also played a crucial role by hyping the image and the divisive language of candidate Trump during the presidential campaigns. The media gave him unfettered and unsolicited publicity because of their penchant for sensational journalism and mercantilism. I wasn’t surprised when he tagged the American media as “the most dishonest people in the world”. If you play with a raging fire and with complacency and you get burned, who will give a f**k for their inaction. (Please, excuse my American popular tantrum).
By our commission or omission to not vote on November 8, 2016, we pay incredible price at the polling booths, I love to take responsibility for my actions or inaction. I hate whining about my inaction when my actions were mostly needed. This is the reality we have to face going forward as a people in the United States. President Donald Trump is the new president of the United States, at least, for the next four years if he abides by the constitution of the United States. “We the people” is the statement that ramifies the collective decision of the people in America through the forefathers’ eloquent beginnings.
There are times in life we have to take stock of our actions and inaction. When we are in a race of life, or in existential competition, we have got to armed ourselves with the notion of taking responsibility for our own actions and inaction. In the desirability of man to win a race or achieve success in life, in the process, if he falls or loses, he should get up and dust his boots and get ready to go back to trenches to fight another day. Life in itself is a race. Folks in the Democratic party; the sit-at-home-democrats, the Bernie Sanders’ supporters with protest votes who are whining now should be advised to better get use to Trump’s presidency. You Asked for it. His presidency might sound like reality or circus show, please get use to it. Donald Trump is the president of the United States. Get used to your inaction folks! When you are complacent or recalcitrant to do the right thing at the right time, when the consequences of your inaction come, you shouldn’t blame the winning opponent for your complacency.
Democrats, Republicans and Bernie voters, we should be good losers and stop whining about a sore winner who is already in the White House. We asked for him! Constitutionally, he is our leaders now, we must reckon with that fact. By reality, Donald Trump is our President for this United States, and for another four years. We should collectively own his success or failures because we asked for him. If he fails, we are all going be a collective failure, because “you asked for it!” If we want to win another day, Democrats should go back to the drawing board; and analyse where they were found wanting in the last general election. The protesters (Bernie Sanders and Trump’s supporters included) should stop living in the bubbles, they should come out of their aloofness, reconstruct their cocoons and fight through their votes in the next general elections. You cannot eat your cake and still expect to have it.
Moreover, it is factual that a new president is on board. Protesters are using medicine after death to revive a dead body. “Alternative facts are not facts, they are falsehood.” Denouncing a president after you have voted for him doesn’t add up. Rejecting him after your collective inaction and omission to vote is ludicrous and unacceptable; and after he has been sworn-in to the office is completely inappropriate.
The mid-term election is around the corner, that is another opportunity to send a clear signal to the Republicans in Congress why they should not take the Democrats’ failure for granted. Democrats should be told in clear term that failure should be their guide, not their undertaker. Failure is a temporary detour, it is not a dead end. It gives you opportunity to go back to situation room to reorganize, restrategize. Success can be achieved if we avoid failures by doing something proactively, not by sitting on the fence when the occasion demands for it and expect good results.
