President Lincoln made that well known remark about how all the people cannot be fooled all the time.
Recently there was that election in Brazil in which former (and now future President) Lula defeated an incumbent by a solid margin. There was an anxious moment of concern whether the defeated incumbent would accept the results and go willingly. He did.
There was quite a bit of pre-election bloviating that came from the election deniers in this country. But, on election night, good sense prevailed. The voters’ decisions have been accepted. This comes as a relief. Americans apparently don’t really want to throw democracy overboard, even if some say they do. (I know a few of them.)
Sure. There are reasons to be quite concerned about the short-term. Recent numbers have shown stubbornly high inflation. (Though this morning’s report shows a welcome moderation of that.) Filling your car up has been no fun lately and retirement portfolios have taken a hit. Substantial numbers of voters showed a willingness to look beyond their immediate pocketbook concerns and consider some broader longer-term matters. Impressive and somewhat surprising.
I think it has set in that the former President of this country is not one in whom most people will put their faith. There’s a report this morning that he was angry at Sean Hannity AND his own spouse for encouraging his support of candidate Oz in Pennsylvania. Not exactly a profile in courage.
It may be quaint to recall that Harry Truman had that sign on his desk that said, “The buck stops here.” But loyalty, trust and faith are important character strengths. And, to most Americans, they still mean something. I’m grateful for that and will remain so.