A New Birth of Freedom
by Hank Silverberg
Whew! We can breathe again. This election was not a Civil War. But with thousands of people dying from Covid-19 and political positions extremely polarized, it is now time to sit back a little and let things happen.
In his speech to the nation on Saturday night, President-Elect Joe Biden echoed Abe Lincoln and asked us to work together for the greater good. He promised to be President not just for those who voted for him, but for all Americans-- a refreshing change from the "Me,Me,Me" attitude of the man who still sits in the oval office for the next two months.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From the speech:
"The Bible tells us that to everything there is a season — a time to build, a time to reap, a time to sow. And a time to heal.
This is the time to heal in America."
Full speech here:https://joebiden.com/presidency-for-all-a
Mr. Biden has already promised to appoint a special Coronavirus Task Force THIS WEEK to begin working on a plan to eradicate Covid-19 so they can hit the ground running in January.
But there are some important takeaways from the election. It is probable that all the legal maneuvers, recounts and false claims of voter fraud coming from the GOP will linger for a few weeks and then fade away.
But it should be noted that a record number of people voted this year. Biden got more than 74 million votes, recording the highest tally ever for a presidential candidate in the history of the United States. However, we should NOT forget that more than 70 million people voted for Donald Trump's bombastic "liearchy" and incompetent performance. I suspect Trump could fade into the footnotes of history a year after he leaves office. But those 70 million people will not.
Social media is still filled with conspiracy theories, anti-maskers, and a very confused public. It will take some time for everyone to calm down and much longer to restore hope for a better future and trust in those who lead us. The damage Trumpism has done to the United States remains active in the Supreme Court, House and Senate (see below) and will linger.
Also of note, especially for Trump voters: after all is said, in the final analysis, the 2020 election results may have taken a long time to count, but in reality it was NOT really a close election. This tweet from Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, lays that out.
The media always takes a hit, whether they play it safe or speculate, but Mr. Sabato has a sound history of being right. The pre-election polls were not that wrong.
So what should the average person be doing now? It doesn't really matter who you voted for. If you care about this country like I do, you will calm down and go about your business with renewed energy. We will likely see a peaceful transition of power in January, even with a lack of cooperation from the outgoing administration.
You will also likely see the Biden Administration struggle to get control of Covid-19. It won't be politics or ideology that hampers their effort this time, though. It will be a global pandemic for which science has not yet found a solution. And it will be a large portion of our population confused by the past pollution of disinformation and leery of trusting any government. (Wear a darn mask!)
Are the voters really informed?
While on the subject of the election, there is this: voters in Georgia's 14th Congressional District have elected a follower of the Q-Anon far-right conspiracy wacko group to Congress. Marjorie Taylor Greene, on the ballot as a Republican, ran unopposed after her Democratic challenger dropped out in September.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/03/qanon-marjorie-taylor-greene-wins-congress
She had beaten a pro-trump conservative in the primary in August, even after Politico reported on videos that showed her comparing Black Lives Mater to the KKK and promoting anti-Semitic falsehoods about billionaire George Soros. Yes, you read that right. She will now be a member of Congress. The only good news here is that 24 other Q-Anon-oriented candidates on the ballot in other places were not elected.
Anti-Semitism? What's That?
Here's a story that didn't get much attention but should have. A new survey on anti-Semitism in
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The poll revealed that 21% of Americans over all, that's more than one in five, have never even heard the term, and 25% have heard the term but don't know what it means.
Of those non-Jewish Americans who know what the term means, only 19% consider it a major problem in the United States. The poll was released just before the Presidential election.
Covid-19 Making A Comeback!
Amidst all the election hoopla we have seen a dark cloud emerging as the holidays approach. The number of Covid-19 cases across the country is way up again, and social distancing and mask wearing seem to be waning. Even the White House felt it, with President Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows testing positive for the virus.
I could not help wondering about all the large gatherings across the country this past weekend--people celebrating the election results. While many of them were wearing masks, there were also many people crowded together and ignoring the rules.
The chart on the link below clearly shows more than ten thousand new cases every day so far in November, and a two week upward trend.
It is important that we not fall back into bad habits and continue to wash our hands, mask our mouth AND nose and social distance. Thanksgiving is a few weeks away and several more holidays after that. Most of us would like to gather with our friends and families, but frankly, it's a bad idea. The risk has NOT gone away. Take a look at this chart!
Total Cases And Weekly Trends, By State And Territory
Totals as of 6:24 a.m. on Nov. 8. Daily averages as of November 7.
PERCENT CHANGE VS. PREVIOUS WEEK
The end of Donald Trump's presidency does NOT mean an end to the virus. Not yet!
For your entertainment:
Since Joe Biden quoted from Ecclesiastes in his victory speech, I thought this song was a fitting end for my blog this week, and much more uplifting than that chart above. Here's Judy Collins with Pete Seeger from 1966, singing Seeger's song, "Turn, Turn, Turn."
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome below )
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