Blessed Unrest

I waited for one "normal" night's sleep before deciding to wade in. It wasn't enough. Unrest persists.

By recent measures, this was a decisive election. 349 Electoral votes and the prospect of more to come from North Carolina means we won't have to endure weeks of litigation. We will have to endure weeks of recrimination and speculation before the honeymoon begins, both from sore winners and sore losers

I know better. Attachment to electoral politics is not a virtue to Christians nor Buddhists (I'm both). Oddly, my awareness of my own level of attachment was a barometer. If a cause can drive an old man onto the streets it offers hope. But what did drive young and old to the streets?

Like many, including John McCain, I find satisfaction in knowing my country can elect a person of color to its highest office. It is a level of satisfaction approaching smugness for some of us; a certain glee in watching the WTF (Whisky Tango Foxtrot) reactions coming in from near and far. But I find myself observing Nate Silver's prescience grudgingly. The partisans on my side could not believe Nate's predictions, the numbers were too good. The partisans of the other side clung to the error of the New Hampshire primary. Followers of fivethirtyeight.com and intrade.com got no surprises. Voters at the polls fulfilled every expectation of the pollsters. For us there was no magic.

If it was unrest that drove participation in advance of election day, it is unrest that characterizes winners and losers as well.  We seem to be rewarding the non-participants that stayed home. Some will indulge their regrets, others their victory. My hope is that some will come together in common cause to be the change we want to see.