Don't Worry, Be Happy

In my entire adult lifetime, my happiness has never been based upon who our elected officials are at the time. Oh sure, I may feel a sense of dread at far left "progressives" influencing U.S. policy. But even when leftists are in power, I have to check myself to ensure my faith is not misguided. As a devout Christian, I'm able to maintain my peace and contentment despite being in a world which may be hostile to my worldview.

I guess this is why secular progressives, elitists, etc. are such miserable people. Putting hope and faith in a system of government headed up by fallible human beings will always leave us disappointed. Always. 

The trend I've noticed lately is many progs feel some sort of guilt for acknowledging and/or celebrating joyous occasions in their lives. The reason being is largely due to, in their minds, the horrifying reality of living in a country in which Donald Trump is president. Bethany Mandel noticed this as well. 

A fellow mom friend recently posted an idyllic picture of her kids online, writing about what a magical summer they’ve had so far. She ended the post by saying “even in dark times like these, my kids are such a bright spot.”

What dark times were these, I wondered? In the last week I’ve had a friend bury a brother, another returned foster children he’s had in his home for over a year and a third put their beloved family pet to sleep. So I messaged the friend concerned about the dark times facing her family, offering my prayers for whatever challenges they might be.

It turned out she just meant the presidency of Donald Trump. I say “just” not to dismiss the genuine distress many feel but to place it in its proper context. We’ve lost total perspective.

Indeed, it says something about how blessed we are that an unpleasant president counts as a dark cloud in one’s life, a trauma to be lived through. It seems Trump’s opponents feel that to properly signal their disapproval they must replace a healthy sense of perspective about American history with hyperbole.

A person born in 1911 experienced between their 18th and 40th years: The Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, World War II, the Cold War and the risk of nuclear war, the Korean War and the rise of Communist China. Perhaps we should keep that in mind the next time we refer to 2018 as “dark times.”

That's spot on. I'd also like to add that anyone who indulges in such outlandish rhetoric should perhaps go spend an extended period of time in a third world country where there's little to no hope of ever overthrowing someone in power. At least in this country, a president is up for election every four years.

Bottom line: Our standing as Americans are not and should not be reflective of whomever is President of the United States.

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