Where do we go from here? Things are happening so fast in these post-election hours and days that we aren’t sure what is going on. Seriously.
- Remember: the first story is never the real story. We follow that rule here at Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. Patience is your friend in this election of 2020. Since there is no landslide in this election, resist the temptation to believe your favorite media outlet. Remember the words of William Langland (1360-1387) “Patience is a virtue.” Since it’s been a trusted saying from the 14th century, it’s probably safe to conclude that we make better decisions and effectively control our emotions when exercising patience.
- To conclude that America proved on November 3, a desire to be a socialist country is false. Record numbers of Americans showed up to vote in a free election. They saw fit to take time out of their “every day” to do their civic duty. Elections in a socialist country don’t engender such support.
- Get ready for the court battles. Americans knew this was going to be a likely scenario. Maybe a court challenge will root out any discrepancies in future elections, like having more people “vote” in a state than there are registered voters. Perhaps we can get clarity on the legality and accuracy of mass mail-in ballots. Things like that. (Please know that we support counting every lawful vote in every state).
- If you consistently got an essential part of your job wrong that depended on your math skills, you would lose your job. I think that Americans have successfully outsmarted the pollsters over time. Perhaps their time is up.
- We will have a president. We have one today until January 20, 2021, and we will have one after that. It is critically important to show the world that the USA has a process for the transition of power. I will be showing my junior high civics class a video of November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated, and Vice-President Johnson was sworn in two hours later. We don’t leave ourselves vulnerable to our enemies. The lesson is entitled “A Peaceful Transition of Power.” We must support the election’s final results, with all of its challenges, regardless of its outcome. It’s crucial to put our children at ease as well.
We are Americans. We will come through this trying time because of who we are- “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.”
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. ??
