Election results prove half the country is composed of wankers
GPA PHoto Archive, Flickr, via Creative Commons license
The 2020 election is not a done deal, but from the close results one can draw several broad conclusions about many of the voters in this country:
1. They don’t care about climate change. Either they don’t think it’s happening, or it’s somebody else’s problem (their children’s and grandchildren’s problem, to be more precise).
2. They don’t seem interested in finding cleaner energy sources that will power our civilization when the oil runs out, nevermind the pollution and climate change consequences of burning fossil fuels.
3. Speaking of pollution, they don’t seem to care about clean water, clean air and caring for our natural resources and wildlife. They don’t understand the connection between these things and their survival. (Just wait until they find out pizza doesn’t grow on trees.)
4. They don’t seem to care about the rest of the world. They seem to think America can function in a vacuum, mindless to the needs of the other nations – unless one of them threatens access to the resources they want to maintain their comfortable lifestyle.
5. They don’t care about the rights of minorities. Judging by the way they voted, it would seem as long as they can do what they want unimpeded by restrictions and discrimination, everyone else can be damned.
6. They don’t appear to care about the truth. Their candidate lies and they laugh it off, or respond with an endless series of “Whatabouts.”
7. They have no understanding of the Constitution and how it applies to their daily lives, and they don’t seem to care. Again, as long as they get what they want, everyone and everything else can be damned.
8. Decorum, dignity, compassion and respect are concepts apparently lost to them.
9. They don’t seem to respect or even understand the power and truth of science. They’ll avail themselves of science when it serves their purpose, but otherwise they treat it as a kind of superstition. The distrust of science and scientists in this country is headed in the same direction of the USSR in the 1940s.
And finally, 10. They don’t seem to care about the future. They have no vision of the amazing thing this country could become with hard work and determination. In fact, they appear to relish living in the past and wallowing in a notion of greatness that does not exist within their generation, something they have not earned.
The sad fact is that even if the more honorable of the two candidates pulls it out at the 11th hour, about half the eligible voters have, in my opinion, demonstrated themselves to be greedy, selfish, ignorant people whom I will never trust or respect again. I am not just disappointed with but ashamed of them, and that isn’t a difference of political opinion. It’s an issue of values.
They have shown me that their values and mine are in no way compatible.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .