Simplicity

As every sane person, I’m hugely disappointed by the results of the US election. But from all the posts I’ve read, this one from Carlos Perez strikes me as absolutely true and captures why I still like the US, despite all the moral hypocrisy:

Despite being found guilty of so many misdjudgments in Iraq, it was easier for the public conscience to also paint an optimistic picture and choose the leader who would not waver on that optimistic vision. Whether that be reality or not, Americans felt they owed at least that fiction for the troops who are fighting and sacrificing half a world away. Bad situations require optimistic fantasies to get us through them, depriving one of that fantasy only makes the situation more unbearable. The majority has chosen the people who created the mess to also clean it up. Only time can tell whether this will work or whether they will be held truly accountable.

Interestingly enough that is what separates American thinking from European thinking. It is that quick and dirty approach, whatever works best approach that brings products to market ahead of the Europeans who are always contemplating an elegant solution. I’m not pitting one kind of thinking over the other, I marvel at both American’s pragmatism and European idealism. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

This gives me a kind of closure, I have finally understood the vote. Even though I disagree with it, the vote was distinctly American.

Amen. And now back to our regular programming.