There are times when I am not happy about being right. This is one of them.

But I am also shocked that people are surprised by the outcome.  Trump is a logical conclusion, with the outcome being projected by loads of factors, all of them outside the traditional “politics as usual” box. The signs weren’t just there lurking in the shadows, but were screaming loudly, almost daily, for years, until finally ratified by the voters (or at least those who showed up to vote).

This isn’t something that can be wrapped into one, nice, neat, package with a red bow. The reasons for us waking up to a Trump Presidency go back decades, and ironically, are partially the result of several self-inflicted wounds by Hillary’s husband (and no…not his sexual peccadilloes), as well as a voting public who has traded common sense and dignity for infotainment and general apathy.

We didn’t get here for any single reason, and solving the real problems of this country are going to take some dedicated, focused, hard work.  But, it starts with realizing where the real problems originated, and admitting our roles in allowing our country to be hijacked by assclowns.

Make no mistake about it, “We the Sheeple,” watched this happen over the course of decades. And to stand in the streets, baaaaahing and bleating in anger at the outcome, is disingenuous and immature.  This is tantamount to a drunk driver, who wrecked a car and destroyed property and lives, blaming the bartender for over serving you.  This is about apathy that runs so deep in the electorate that we have lost sight of what the real problems are, and how to begin fixing them.  This is about people who are finally waking up to the ramifications of standing on the sidelines, instead of getting into the game, or at least taking as much time to choose our leaders as the average fantasy football “team captain” takes to manage their team.

And, I will begin the finger-pointing with myself. Trust me, there is plenty of blame to go around, so why not start with me?

As I wrote just a couple of days before the election, I couldn’t bring myself to vote for either choice on the ballot.  I found both options so completely soul-destroying in their depth of compromise as opposed to what I wanted in a leader, that I simply couldn’t do it. And I didn’t. I waited until the last, soul searching minute to turn in my ballot, after writing in Joe Biden.

But, as I have explained to any and all who still have any sense of rational brain operating at this point on the issue, Oregon is a profoundly “Blue State” with 7 electoral votes, and nothing I did was going to change the outcome of the election.  Oh…well…except for maybe blogging about it to readers across the country and across the world.

But, the REAL blame I am willing to accept, is for my silence during the run-up to this election.  I could see the signs, and knew that this election cycle was a harbinger of a giant flock of shit-birds coming home to roost, after feasting for decades on the collective souls of the ignorant and apathetic.

I have had a sense for months that the outcome of this election was irretrievably out of reach for HRC Inc., and it wasn’t for the reasons that most continue to place on the general voting public.  This was not a vote for misogyny, or bigotry, or racism.  This was not a vote for a party, or for that matter a single issue that drove a movement.  It was about enough people…and JUST enough people…saying “enough” to the political machine, the media, and the pollsters that have been shaping (rigging?) this election for months.  It was about throwing a wrench into the works, because the operators were ignoring those who needed the machine to produce a result that was clear to all but those “in management.”

Like it or not, the numbers don’t lie.  Two huge factors came into play, and both of them are the direct result of the kind of hubris that only someone who felt “anointed” before the primaries even began could possess, along with those who were willing to do the very thing that they now accuse others of doing.  It was not only who voted, and why, but also who didn’t vote, and why.

Like the same aforementioned drunk who crashed the family car, we didn’t get here with a single drink. This nightmare, with its extended hangover, was brought about by our own consensus, bad (or lack of) judgement, and the kind of rational that a brain pickled by consistent self-abuse brings to a situation through habitual disregard for “doing what is right, even when it is hard.”

In short…we’ve been getting drunk on apathy for decades. It is now part of our culture, and we not only acknowledge it, we have created a culture of enablers and co-dependents to sustain and placate our bad behavior.  And now, the worst Drunk Uncle, and his band of misanthropic bullies have taken over while we were making jokes from the sidelines.

But, because I know that most people today, have the attention span of a twitter post (144 characters for all of you who didn’t realize how limited Trump’s primary weapon really is), I am going to break this up into several posts.  But fear not…I am going to actually offer up answers and solutions at the end of all of this, based on my observations, the facts that have become evident, and yes…my less than humble opinion.

There are Three Primary Areas that brought us to this outcome.  But as I am hoping to point out, they are all wrapped around a single gradual “frog in the pot” kind of analogy where we are both the frog, and the chef.

There are Numbers/Stats/Details to back up all of this. I am, if nothing more, pragmatic in my views of this mess. But, most important to all of this, I am far from hopeless. This debacle is the wakeup call that we as a nation needed, and I see it as the starting point to recovery.

This is not the beginning of a long nightmare, but rather the first time that many have finally woken up, and are lucid enough to see the dangers around them.  If the past few days are any indication, this is the REAL start of a revolution, or should I say a revelation that starts a revolution, to take back the power from those who would disregard our needs, option our futures, and turn our “one nation indivisible” into a divided, cancerous beast, bent on self-destruction if left untreated.

There are several factors that need to be addressed.
1. Voter Apathy as a form of protest
2. Infotainment as a cancer to the body elect
3. Doing the Hard Work to Know the Real Issues
4. Sacrificing personal gain, for the good of the nation
5. Modifying the Machine Without Breaking It

Yes. This is a lot of work. And the list above may make most of you turn away and look for an easier answer. But, like it or not, there are no easy answers here. We got here through a decades-long list of bad choices (or no choices), and it is going to take time and hard work to correct it.

And believe it or not…I have faith in our future.

We are not a nation of quitters. But using our same analogy, we have become gradually immune to the proper dosage of stimulation, and need more and more to motivate us to action.  This is the time for all people to find ways to come together, celebrating the things we have in common, healing from within, and ridding our nation of one of the most destructive forces known to mankind; apathy.

If you want a different outcome, it starts by admitting that the “Enemy Is Us.”  We have the power to change…or at least take the keys away from the “designated driver.”  We did this to ourselves, and the solution has to come from the “collective WE,” while setting aside our penchant to point the finger at “THEM.”  As has been said, but not enough, it’s time to put the “US” back in the U.S.

Let’s get to work.