Someone once said that conspiracy theories are stupid. To be honest, that someone was me, and to be honest I didn’t think through that quote too profoundly. I just made it up. I made it up as quick as those additional ballots for Biden people are finding. But again I don’t want to sound like there is something sinister happening in Nevada or Georgia or Pennsylvania. And those three states were randomly picked from a hat.
It has come to my attention on this second pre-election results thingy that Trump is not going down without a fight. “Captain Orange,” as I gently call him, is taking all his friends with him to every major court in the country, including that one where Amy Coney Barrett is currently enjoying her stay. It’s not over until some fat person sings, and that fat person may be our mildly obese president. We need to buckle up and let lawyers do that thing they do: lawyering.
I like to remind my readers that we are not at the stage of comparing any of this to third world countries. Why not? because certain countries have a tendency to assassinate opposing candidates and do their evil deeds in public. So, at this point, we may be operating as a second world country, the sort of nebulous one somewhere in-between Narnia and Mordor.
The good news is that the GOP kept the Senate and had some unexpected gains in the House. I was reminded that some time ago Nate Silver predicted the Dems gaining 13 seats in the Senate. The Senate!! That didn’t age well, but neither did the season of polling. Whatever they do next, they need the kind of guidance meteorologists have here in Florida. Pollsters need to remind themselves that the margin is not give-or-take 3%, but give-or-take “we are probably wrong.” But someone has to pay the bills, so these guys will continue to make a living selling panic and fear as a commodity.
And speaking of Fox News, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Let’s assume for the sake of charity that they were simply being predictive in a Nostradamus kind of way about Arizona. Well, they were wrong to do so when other leftist outlets were saying, “Take it easy!” And that says a lot. When Rachel Maddow is acting like a patient observer and Fox News is playing Balaam on TV, things are really weird. I don’t have a word to describe, but to make one up, it’s conspiratorial.
Now, I don’t think we should apply the Levitical regulations for false prophets, but I do think we need brand new outlets of information to shape our perspective. I suggest book studies and hospitality as an alternative news outlet. Your friend down the street or next to you in the pew is bound to be a lot better informed of things than what is out there in the cable world, because at least your friend gains nothing in lying to you, but the media gains ad money, and your brain. Like any means of communication, whatever consumes your eyes, consumes your worldview. It’s time to start thinking outside the box, or the tube, or whatever the kids call it these days.
And finally, I want to encourage you to pray for our nation. Since our prayers are fairly along party lines, let me encourage you to give this BCP prayer a shot while things come to some conclusion. Hear us, O Lord!
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
3 Replies to “Pre-Election Results Analysis, Part 2”