View Points by Dr. T
Tighten Your Seat Belt Folks!
WHOA! The world was rocked when the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union by a referendum vote from an insurgent populous, pharmacy disenfranchised by the status quo. Billions and billions of dollars were lost in a single day due to the instability created in world markets by what the people of the UK did at the ballot box. Could the season of our discontent with “politics as usual” conceivably create a similar outcome in the 2016 Presidential race? It is certainly a very real possibility. It seems many of the people of the UK woke up the next morning to the plunging stock markets and the devaluation of their currency to levels not seen since the days of Margaret Thatcher, and they were “gob smacked”! Many voted without really believing that the “Leave” movement would actually win over the “Stay In” movement. They gambled with their vote in “protest” supporting their rebellion of the classism and tone-deaf leadership of the European Union and its traditionalism. The rising nationalist sentiment and exploitation of an anti-immigrant fear cultivated a climate where a populist agenda could be swept into a frenzy, and where people jumped on the train without really knowing where they were going. Sound familiar?
There is an eerie similarity when we look at the political campaign of 2016 here in the U.S. The insurgent populace evident in both parties, and typically exemplified by the Libertarians, brings about a feeling of déjà vu when we look at what just happened in Great Britain. There continues to be a visual dissonance and clear disconnection with practicality, truth or decorum as we experience an unprecedented ugly election season. People do not seem to care if some candidates actually have a plan, or if candidates tell the truth, or if candidates defy all rules and/or traditions outright. All that many say they want is Change. Really? That’s all they want? Change can be good and on the other hand, it can be just as bad. What kind of change are you talking about? We have witnessed many historic and progressive changes in the United States. We ended slavery. We won the right to vote for women and we outlawed school segregation. We outlawed discrimination in housing and access to public accommodation. All of these were good changes that many good people fought and (in some instances) died to achieve in order to make America the nation we are today. We have a long way to 
go as we pursue income equality, criminal justice reform, comprehensive immigration reform and universal healthcare for all, just to name a few changes we still need to embrace in order to fulfill the “promise” that America claims to be.
Change for change’s sake is not an intelligent or prudent way to move from one place to another because where you ultimately end up could be far worse than where you currently are, and the predicament you find yourself in could be catastrophic. Many folks in the UK find themselves precisely in that position today. They jumped on a train that was going somewhere, but they truly had no idea where that train was headed and now that they’ve arrived, they just want to go home. Elections have REAL consequences and there are NO takebacks. You can’t just say PSYCH! Your vote is a valuable and very important privilege that you have as a citizen of the United States of America. If you cast your vote away on a protest of something, or on a whim without full knowledge of what you are doing and the potential consequences of that choice, fasten your seat belt ‘cuz it truly is going to be a bumpy ride!
