{"id":36,"date":"2016-11-16T17:57:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T17:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2016\/11\/a-call-to-clean-it-up-america.html"},"modified":"2016-11-16T17:57:00","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T17:57:00","slug":"a-call-to-clean-it-up-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2016\/11\/a-call-to-clean-it-up-america.html","title":{"rendered":"A Call to Clean It Up, America"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>To those challenging who won the Presidency \u2026<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact<\/b>: Donald Trump won the electoral vote.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact<\/b>: Hillary Clinton lost the electoral vote.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact: <\/b>Therefore, Donald Trump won the Presidency.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> If we are going to play the <i>my-lady-didn\u2019t-win-and-it\u2019s-because-the-popular-vote-rule-stinks<\/i> game, then fine. Can I call for a re-do on the elections of President Adams, Hayes, Harrison, and George W. Bush? Because they all lost the popular vote but won the electoral vote<\/p>\n<p><i>Fair is fair, right?\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Feeling as though things are unfair is not a valid reason to change a system. Nor is it a valid argument. Everyone knows you can\u2019t change the rules in the middle of a game \u2013 or once a game is over because you don\u2019t like the results. That is the way of bullies and sore losers.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> America is a Republic. Not a Democracy. So when President Obama refers to this country as a Democracy, you can ask how he got into the White House without knowing political science. Why did the Founding Fathers choose to make America a Republic? Because the right\u2019s tendency is to falter and lean toward anarchy. The left\u2019s tendency is to falter and lean toward socialism and communism. And they knew it. They had us pegged long before we were born. They were aware that the nature of humans is to slide off into one ditch or the other, and they tried to protect us against ourselves by setting up the Electoral College.<\/p>\n<p>A Democracy encourages government to grow out of the control of the people, gives too much power to the mobs, and inhibits freedom. The big idea is to have government, but not <i>big<\/i> government. A Republic ensures just enough government to keep us free. It keeps us balanced. And that\u2019s what\u2019s going on when electoral votes determine an election, rather than the popular vote. It\u2019s preventing us from going far right, or far left.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not a <i>perfect<\/i> system. We have to wait for Heaven to get that. But it\u2019s a <i>great <\/i>system. The best on earth. And as such, the defaming of it needs to stop. If Hillary won the electoral votes and Trump won the popular vote, Hillary supporters wouldn\u2019t be bemoaning the election results. Fact is, we have a bunch of sore losers in this country sporting an entitlement attitude, rather than a bunch of concerned citizens on the streets peacefully protesting. If someone has a decent argument against the electoral vote, then let\u2019s hear it. But as of this writing, I\u2019ve only heard whining. Saying things like \u201cWell the people spoke and the people should get what they want!\u201d just doesn\u2019t cut it. That kind of thinking is surface level, and the need at that point is to go deeper in thought. To study the system and the reasons for the system. And realize that emotions don\u2019t rule elections, and frankly, emotions need to stop ruling actions.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> The Founding Fathers knew more than the average Joe or Josephine. That\u2019s you and me. Therefore, a little humbling of ourselves is called for here. Most of us aren\u2019t political scientists, but with a few clicks, we can learn what the wise Founding Fathers were thinking when they set up our government system. We can admit that we aren\u2019t the know-it-alls the country needs. We can be humble citizens, thankful we have a voice with our vote, but also willing to admit our one vote doesn\u2019t determine the outcome of an election. The electoral votes that get cast from the electors <i>you and I<\/i>\u00a0voted in determines the outcome of an election.<\/p>\n<p><i>I know. Hard lessons.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>Opinion:<\/b> Protesters screaming grotesque profanities, destroying property, and pulling stunts such as beating the h-e-double toothpicks out of a fifty year old Trump voter and blocking a pregnant woman from getting to the hospital to attend her emergency? You need to get your big girl and big boy panties on. Grow. Up. You are the very MOBS the Founding Fathers attempted to protect us from with an EC. Trump voters voted against you and your funky, so-called peacemaking tolerance, because they see right through you. You are tolerant only if elections go your way. If everyone believes as you do. Talks as you do. Thinks as you do. Well guess what? Trump voters don\u2019t like to be marginalized. Nor do they like your imbalanced policies and ideologies and they especially loathe PC. They\u2019ve been mauled by your mob for too long and voting for Trump is their way of saying this country is leaning far too close to socialism and communism. The people have spoken, but more importantly, the Electoral College will speak. If you need to grieve, Trump voters need to respect that. But what\u2019s flashing across my news feed is not grief. Call it \u201cprotesting\u201d if you want, but the truth is that it\u2019s disrespectful to the hilt. It\u2019s evil. It\u2019s unloving. It\u2019s intolerant. It\u2019s terrorism.<\/p>\n<p><b>Side note:<\/b> No violent protests took place after either of Obama\u2019s victories. No \u201cRape Michelle\u201d signs, no \u201cF*** Obama\u201d signs. Where ARE President Obama, Michelle, and Hillary? A little of that tolerant, everybody should love everybody rhetoric they\u2019re always spouting is most welcome at this time. Perhaps a gracious concession speech and welcome speech just isn\u2019t enough. We need them to <i><b>lead<\/b><\/i> their people at this time. Not merely read a few well written speeches.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> Hillary didn\u2019t lose the election because she\u2019s a woman, or because Trump and Trump voters are woman haters, racists, bigots, etc. She lost because she\u2019s corrupt. <i>Obviously <\/i>corrupt. Let that sink in. Learn from it. And next time, elect a half-way decent candidate. For now, understand that while there are haters on both sides of this thing, we can\u2019t make sweeping generalizations about either side. Not <i>all <\/i>Hillary supporters are accurately depicted by the violent, vulgar protesters. Not <i>all<\/i> Trump voters are accurately depicted by the disgusting KKK ideology. On both sides, there is hate. But that hate is not in the hearts of every voter, no matter what \u201cside\u201d you are talking about.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fact:<\/b> Donald Trump IS your President-Elect. On January 20th, he will BE your President.<\/p>\n<p><b>Question to protestors:<\/b><i> Did you even vote?<\/i> And if so, do you need a participation trophy just for voting? Pinterest probably has some good ideas for DIY trophies. Check it out. Make one. Coddle one. Display one. Do whatever you need to do to feel at peace and find acceptance that the next four years will not go your way. But whatever you do, stop being destructive, whiny, and disrespectful. That\u2019s what lost the election for you and it won\u2019t get you anywhere ever. Not in politics. Not in life. Play Play-doh instead of attend your classes if you want, but that will literally get you nowhere. All that does is eat up tax dollars by the second, and frankly, it\u2019s a selfish way of coping. Get up. Get out and serve in your schools and community. <i>Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.\u00a0<\/i><br><i><br><\/i><b>A(nother) word of honesty<\/b>: Your protests are coming off as hateful. And I think even those who voted Hillary are ashamed. If not, they should be. Perhaps my tone comes across as hateful as well, so allow me to clarify. I don\u2019t hate you. But your method of protesting is a problem that deserves to be directly called out. I\u2019m being straightforward and blunt because your display is akin to seeing someone with spinach in their teeth or a slimy green booger hanging off their nose. They\u2019ve got nasty going on and don\u2019t know it. Green on a face requires onlookers to say it like it is \u2014 in order to save face. So. I\u2019m simply pointing out this: You need a Kleenex and a toothbrush. In Biblical terms, we would say you have a log in your eye, yet you are telling others to remove the speck from theirs. Jesus painted ridiculous word pictures at times, didn\u2019t He? Not to be hateful, but to get the point across.<\/p>\n<p><b>Closing thoughts:<\/b> To those who lost, aren\u2019t protesting in harmful ways, and are accepting the way the winner is chosen \u2026 thank you! I know you don\u2019t like who America chose. I respect your right to grieve. I respect your right to state your opinions. I appreciate your peaceful and thought provoking conversations. I appreciate you allowing me to disagree with you without slinging vulgarity and hate my way. I appreciate you listening to me. And I appreciate your respect for the system. In particular, the EC.<\/p>\n<p>Being an American is a lot like being in a family. Families, though they have all sorts of different personalities, preferences, and opinions have to learn to live together. Love each other. Respect each other. Successful families refuse to develop mob mentalities, where if the majority agrees, the minority always loses. Successful families are inclusive. Successful families have members who graciously step aside and let others have their way at times.<\/p>\n<p>As a wife, I don\u2019t always want what my husband wants. Being a wife takes the courage and strength to defer. Not always, otherwise the relationship wouldn\u2019t be healthy. But sometimes. So I\u2019m asking those who lost to defer, just as others deferred when Obama got elected. Allow Donald Trump to be President for a time. Give him space to work. Chances are, you\u2019ll survive \u2014 just as those who voted against Obama survived when they were asked to defer to you for the last eight years.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of families, have you ever had a sibling rat on you for something you didn\u2019t do? Doesn\u2019t feel too good, huh? Well the news flash of the day is that not all news flashes are correct. What has been reported on Trump throughout the election is not all true. He had a valid point when he said the media is biased, unfair, and blatant, unrepentant Hillary supporters. I will not claim he is a pristine person. But you have to ask yourself why he was never hated or accused of being a racist, homophobe, mysogynist, or many other awful things he\u2019s been accused of before he ran for office. He\u2019s been in the public eye for decades, and just now people are finding all this dirt?<\/p>\n<p>Suspicious.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been an ugly election cycle. We all need to heal, including Trump. So rest easy. Relinquish the win. Extend grace. For the love of whoever you love, <i><b>stop<\/b><\/i> rioting and name calling and threatening our soon to be First Lady.<\/p>\n<p><i>Live peaceably<\/i> \u2014 unless someone has green gooey snot smeared on their face. In which case, still live peaceably. But be a friend and tell them on no uncertain terms to clean. It. Up.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To those challenging who won the Presidency \u2026 Fact: Donald Trump won the electoral vote. Fact: Hillary Clinton lost the electoral vote. Fact: Therefore, Donald Trump won the Presidency. Fact: If we are going to play the my-lady-didn\u2019t-win-and-it\u2019s-because-the-popular-vote-rule-stinks game, then fine. Can I call for a re-do on the elections of President Adams, Hayes, Harrison, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2920,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Call to Clean It Up, America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To those challenging who won the Presidency ...Fact: Donald Trump won the electoral vote.Fact: Hillary Clinton lost the electoral vote.Fact: Therefore,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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Renee Coats\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2016\/11\/a-call-to-clean-it-up-america.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2016\/11\/a-call-to-clean-it-up-america.html\",\"name\":\"A Call to Clean It Up, America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-16T17:57:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-16T17:57:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0e763ae152fbf5b79f1c2a8ee55124\"},\"description\":\"To those challenging who won the Presidency ...Fact: Donald Trump won the electoral vote.Fact: Hillary Clinton lost the electoral vote.Fact: 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