Historical Elections

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Nov 092016
 

Well, it has been announced officially – President Trump – will lead our country for the next four years.

WTH????

When he announced his candidacy, I honestly thought it was a joke. It appeared that all throughout his campaign, he felt the same. No one that I know ever imagined that it would ever become a reality that he would step into the White House. Yet, today, the democratic process has proven that you cannot predict the behaviors of people no matter how many polls are taken prior to election day.

Some people have said that they just want change. Some did not bother to vote anyway. Others voted for the other two candidates because they did not want to choose one of the “lesser of two evils”.

Women that I know have said with tears in their eyes that it is a statement against gender and race. Trump represents a step back nearly a hundred years for minorities, women, and the global society. Or does he? Perhaps he is just an exacerbation of the reality that we have been pretending does not exist. Perhaps he has worked to open our eyes to the real truth – racism and sexism have not changed that much.

While I am sad about the results because it is a disappointing statement of humanity I cannot be disrespectful enough to say those who voted for Trump or not for Clinton are ‘stupid’. People made choices and that must be respected. I am curious to see what he is going to do now. The past 19 months have been a shocking display of his lack of respect for women, immigrants and even the U.S.; however, he claims he is “going to make America great again”. So, now he has to step up. Let him bring it!

Honestly, I think when you look at his face, he looks scared sh*tless. It does not look as if HE actually thought he would make it all the way.

Around the world, people are worried. Markets have dropped. There are predictions of WWIII. Yet, it is an opportunity.

Let us keep our fingers crossed, positive energies and prayers for peace, acceptance and moving forward in a way that brings people together. May the time of division come to an end at last.

My name is Tara Footner and I am waiting to determine if I approve or not! 😛

~T 😀

Words

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Nov 082016
 

In light of the soon to be barrage of news reports on today’s election results, I thought I would write a little post about words. It is a title and topic that came to mind a while back, but I had not quite decided what to say.

In considering the past 18 months of campaigning by our two party leaders it is an interesting matter – how words are used. The United States is heavily divided along party lines because of the misuse and abuse of words by both candidates.

Trump abuses words, women, immigrants and the like regularly, which seems to appeal to a number of people who would equally want the U.S. to be better than it already is.

Clinton misuses words with her email scandal, politicking, and the like, which seems to not faze most people when faced with the alternative in wanting the U.S. to be better than it already is.

Either way, the media is absolutely warping the words of both candidates to exacerbate a story depending on the networks’ political bent. It is events like this that causes historical shifts in the way that words are used and understood in the future. Society places meaning upon words that are benign on their own, but get infused with either negative or positive connotations and nuances. What is forgotten amidst it all is the commonality that we all want the U.S. (or read human beings) to be better than it (they) already is (are).

The beauty of language is that it is indeed alive – new creations come about regularly and shifts in use ebb and flow as frequently as the tide changes. However, as a lover of words and language, I feel a need to remember that at the end of the day, words are just words. Instead of blaming how someone spells a word or misuses or abuses a word, let us put the onus where it belongs. The intention of the user and the user him or herself.

Let’s remind ourselves that at the end of the day we all want the same thing – a better world to live in. There are no other words to describe that. 🙂

~T 😀

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