Can You Handle It?

The pressure is on!!! And it keeps on building as the political world that we though we once knew, is now standing on its collective head.  This election cycle certainly has a lot of people scratching their heads, gasping for air and even seeking out counseling to deal with what they are hearing, seeing and experiencing. 

With each passing day, many keep on saying this is not real, unprecedented, it will not last for long, but to their dismay... this “political circus” train keeps on making its way down the track.  This train has it all, clowns, big money, backdrops, insiders, spin doctors, push-backs, walk backs, fact checkers, the outrageous and the insane.  Not only is this train affecting the way the race for the White House is being viewed, it is also affecting countless state and local races as well.  Truly the circus has come to town.      

What is also making the 2016 elections so interesting has been the emergence of a new level of deep seated prejudice, racism and personal agendas.  In the 1975 movie Network, news anchor Howard Beale declares, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” In this movie, people everywhere go and open their windows and repeat the same catchphrase.  Then they rushed to the streets to air out their grievances.  It does not take Howard long to come to realize that the system co-opts both social and economic power to its own advantage.  In a subtle way this movie was a parable about how after all the screaming, protests and outrage, very little changed and people still lost their voice.  Even in the end, after all the drama, it was about getting better television ratings.  


Sadly, this is where we are today as life is imitating art; we are taking our generative energy, the power of the people to the streets, "We are mad as hell and we are not going to take it anymore."  This message is going across college campuses, in neighborhoods, at town-halls, debates, rallies and through social media.  We are raising our voices to be heard, taking a stand and marching to a new drummer to reflect why Black Lives Matters, to reduce gun violence, bring back livable wage jobs, keep Plan Parenthood services for all women, provide clean water to drink and to hold people accountable.  From my view, since the train is moving and headed our way, let’s keep the pressure on and maybe something really happens.