Some Post Election Thoughts

All politics are local and personal and one's perception is one's reality.

There is nothing anyone can write or say that will change anyone's mind about what happened in the election or what might happen in the future.

Certainly I am not someone who has great powers of persuasion outside the realm of my stage hypnosis show (HAHA...I hypnotized over 2000 people last year in my shows and told them all to vote for Trump!)

But besides that, no one pays any attention to anything I have to say.

I have been afraid to say, or write, much in the past 5 months as evidenced by the date of my last entry here.

Why is that? Why in the United States of America should I have been afraid to speak?

Hmm...let's see. Well, there were times that when I did comment publicly on Facebook, for example, I was called names...traitor and racist among the names. Why? Because of the person I supported in the election.

Because I knew the IRS was being used as a tool of intimidation for those who did not support the current administration. (Not that I had any money left to be of any concern to them.)

Because I knew that since in the economy of the past 8 years I was wiped out financially and because I needed to do things like...oh, I don't know...maybe...EAT...I had to toe the line, keep my mouth shut otherwise face the possible consequence of not getting work from a place which believed I had to believe the way they did or they wouldn't hire me.

There are even a couple of other reasons, but the point should be noted with those.

Eight years ago on the day after Obama was elected I happened to be in Union Square in NYC doing a show that evening. I had time to walk around the area and in the open-air market that was operating in the square there was genuine excitement. Lots of people were selling Obama merchandise and people were smiling and there was a sense of hope.

I wasn't happy at all. Some of my concerns were realized within the next two weeks as I had 8 corporate holiday shows I had booked cancel on me. That's right...8...not one because of some fluke, but 8. Businesses saw the writing on the wall right away. They knew that higher taxes and increased regulations that were going to cost them money were on the horizon. Christmas parties were one of the amenities that were easy to cut out or, at least, cutting out the entertainer for the party was easy to do.

Yet, at that moment in Union Square I thought..."well, good for them. Some of these people have finally seen something happen that they believed would never happen in their lifetimes...a black President." I'm sure that wasn't the only reason, but it was surely one of them.

I couldn't have cared less about that; I cared about his beliefs when it came to things like the economy, my most important concern. But, still, I was resigned to the fact of what happened and was glad for those who were happy, even though I didn't know any of them.

What I didn't do that day, or in any of the days and years after that, was take to the streets and riot and destroy shit. I spoke my mind for a while and everyone should have the right to do that...within the confines of accepted community standards...and not have to fear reprisal or consequence.

Fast forward 8 years to November 2016 in Union Square and the protests over what happened last week. Want to know what I noticed? No one there seems to be happy for me. Not that anyone owes me anything; no one knew I was happy for them, but there hasn't been the same sentiment I had for some people back then coming my way.

A couple of weeks before the election business was very slow for me, as far as getting requests for show proposals was concerned. I knew why...people were waiting to see what was going to happen. Individuals, groups and businesses were going to make decisions based on the results. See, it actually DOES matter who is President, for at least that much.

Sure enough, in the next two days after the election I received 8 proposals and booked two shows. I'll probably get a couple more by the end of this week.

Suddenly in this past week my phone started to ring again. I help people with hypnotherapy but insurance doesn't pay for any of it so clients have to pay cash. A few appointments were booked.

A small business I have run for 20 years will remain open and the couple of people who work with me part time will have that way to make some extra money.

I was asked to work for a new start-up business which was started based on the result of the election. The position is working at something I did for ten years but had to stop because the economy crushed it.

That doesn't mean that just because the Presidency changed that everything is going to suddenly be OK with the economy. Its still going to take a couple of years...and then HOPEFULLY, things will turn around here. I sit in rubble of what had been destroyed over these years. It will take time to rebuild. At least I know there is a businessman leading the way and will hopefully remove some of the legitimate obstacles which had been placed in my path. Sure, I had some successes along the way and I survived. I just didn't have resources remaining to thrive in spite of everything...like far too many people.

I have always thought that politicians needed to go and those with business acumen should run this place like a business.

Some people believe everything was just fine. Well, if you work for a government agency of some sort it probably was. If you didn't, like me, it surely wasn't. This is the major debate...should the government be larger and more powerful or should the private sector be larger and more powerful.

I believe that since our country was founded by people who fled from larger and powerful governments and people from all around the world have come here for the same reason that the private sector...and the people within it...should have the power; certainly not the government which has the most powerful army in the world and powerful tools such as the IRS at their disposal to use to keep the people in line.

That's just what I have come to believe after living here for almost 55 years now. I see those in the streets protesting who aren't happy for me (and for those who will benefit from jobs that I will create in the next few years) and know that they don't have that life experience. I believe that what they are learning about the type of government they seem to want is simply wrong.




Perhaps I will jot down some more thoughts in the next couple of weeks about this. Maybe not...who knows. I really just wrote this for me and the 4 or 5 friends who do read this. Hopefully, while they might not be happy about the results they might at least take a moment and be happy that I am happy about it.

Done