Election 2016: Dealing with reality as it is, not as we wish it had been

(Source: Pearls Before Swine, April 13, 2016)

As the popular internet meme went, the thing that frightened us most about Election 2016 was that one of the two major candidates would win.  And sure enough, one of them did.

I must admit that my least unfavorite of the two candidates won, but I continue to harbor the ill feeling that I've had for months: that any positive accomplishments a Trump administration might see (and I expect I occasionally will have reason to cheer) will be overshadowed by a variety of policy train wrecks.  It remains to be seen whether or not the GOP can survive its stunning victory up and down the ballot.

I have often counseled my son that we need to deal with reality as it is, not as we wish it had been. It's tempting to bang my head against a wall until I fall unconscious, but this is no better than any other reality-avoidance technique that has been invented -- reality would wait patiently for me to come to again.

I don't know whether or not constitutional conservatism has a future in this country, but I can do no less than to stay true to my principles.  I commit to doing this, even if it means standing against the standard-bearer of the party with which I've identified for over 35 years.  But let me be clear: for me, standing against Trumpism will never mean allying myself with any of the -isms that plague the other party.