A Political Rant To End 2016

As I sat and contemplated writing an article about a million different topics, I couldn’t help but just think and type. As a result, I have crafted my very own passive-aggressive rant about politics and conservative America. 2016 is over, and with it the Obama administration. Although America was sold just a little under a decade ago on change and unity, 2017 will show the dark underbelly of the American psyche. Obama failed, just like Bush and just like Clinton. Change has not occurred over the last eight years; if anything, the United States has become more divided. All of this aside, there is something much more to this deep divide within America that has pervaded our society for many years. At its most basic, the American democracy as we know it is being dismantled.

When you really think about it, 2016 was not much different than any other year. Other than some high profile people passing away, we had the election. This year we elected the underdog, similar to what happened in 2008 and in 2000. The only difference is that this year we are seeing partisan politics take off in a direction that has largely not been seen in the US for quite some time. I would argue that the source of all of this comes down to the individual states.

I would say that the majority of Americans come from working class homes in middle America. These folks are more often than not labeled the working class and typically fall in the lower to middle class. Where I come from-- the red state of Kansas-- I am far too aware of what political ideology these folks ascribe to, which is largely ignorant principles of “small government.” Most of these feelings come from local governments and state government being hyper-conservative. These conservative lawmakers have an innate ability to instill these often absurd feelings about politics. I am not blaming the small town folks for ruining this country, but I am not saying they are saving it, either.

What it really comes down to is how these individuals vote, which according to Samuel Popkins is largely without much consideration. In his book "The Reasoned Voter,"Popkins goes into great detail about how the average American voter goes through things like education shortcuts. These shortcuts can be anything from common phrases to vague allegories. For instance, conservatives always run on a platform of smaller government and protecting your Second Amendment right, while at the same time portraying the liberal as a coastal snowflake. Just because I went to college, read books, and live on the coast does not make me a snowflake.

Maybe it is just me reminiscing on 2016 that is making me passive-aggressive towards these folks who live in the “fly over states.” As liberals try to make their way through the stages of grief, we have to come to accept the reality of the world we now live in. We always knew what the power of collective people could do, but I guess we never considered how much these people can be manipulated. With my last words, I would just like to say thank you, conservative America, thank you. You have been waging a decade long war, and you have now won. The funny part is that you reap what you sow, and now you have to live with the next four years under a populist regime. Unless you make over 150k a year, you won’t share the benefits he promised you. At the end of it all, you will be left with no health care, no job, terrible public education, and an isolationist foreign policy that will put the United States back years. Congratulations.