There are worse things...

There are worse things than losing an election.

There are worse things than losing an election that is stolen.*

For example, losing your soul. And one way you lose your soul is to affirm as good what only weeks before, you declared was evil. What happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 was evil; how do I know? Because it was evil when it happened in Portland, Oregon, over many months; and when it happened in Seattle and Minneapolis and in Washington, D.C., and in many other places last year, under the auspices of Antifa and "Black Lives Matter." 

Oh, you say the media and various politicians are hypocritical? Of course they are! But why do you make their hypocrisy your own?

When people argue, "well, they did it first," I recall trying that exact argument with my parents when I was 7 years old. They didn't buy it; no parents ever do.

There are people who are greatly discouraged about election results, especially the outcome in Georgia. Keep perspective. Elections go as they go; and if you think this is the first time anyone claimed there was widespread fraud, I refer you to the election of 1960, or how about the 1876 election? Check that one out. I don't blame people for not knowing history, but if you don't know much history, please stop with the histrionics about how our situation is the "worst EVER!" 

Also, let's actually review:

Former Vice President Joe Biden's victory is pretty narrow; not a landslide. You know who won by a landslide? Lyndon Baines Johnson: what an epic disaster he was! But we survived; and the political pendulum swung another way.

Even after putatively winning both U.S. Senate seats in Georgia, the Democratic Party has exactly 50 vote in the U.S. Senate; and they lost major ground in the U.S. House; this is an extremely fragile majority. It will be very hard for President-elect Biden to pass very much. In theory, if every single Democrat sticks together, they can enact almost anything. That's not very likely.

Meanwhile...

In the states, the GOP gained ground in controlling legislatures; that has implications for redistricting.

The courts are in the best shape they've been in for a long time, thanks to much better nominees from President Trump. Yes, of course Biden will name his judges, but Trump had a unique opportunity, as a result of a large number of vacancies, particularly in the appellate courts; Biden inherits, I believe, exactly zero appellate court vacancies. And, of course, Trump made a big impact on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Are you worried about election shenanigans? They didn't happen everywhere; and if you want a political environment favorable to addressing them, this is as good as you're going to get. Do you know what state did not have problems this time? Florida. Why? Because after the fiasco of 2000, the legislature fixed things. Now is the time for Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan to do the same. And guess what? The GOP is well positioned in many of those places, and guess what else? There's an election in two years, and I would expect the GOP, if it is smart and mobilized, to make gains again.

And spare me the claim that there won't ever be another free election. Just have some soothing tea and cookies and calm down. 

President Donald Trump, in my judgment, had an extraordinarily successful term. However, he governed in a remarkably chaotic way, and his public statements and representations were especially so. I'd say at this point, he really shot himself in the foot in the last few months. For him and his team to be caught unprepared for whatever election fraud may have happened -- and to have failed utterly to have a legal strategy -- is all on him. And while he is not responsible for the violent behavior of those who stormed the U.S. Capitol -- I think it's pretty clear many of them were not even Trump supporters, but who knows for sure? -- he is responsible for organizing and supporting a massive rally, and saying, let's go to the Capitol, and then it blew up in his face. There is, thankfully, a very short list of incidents of people attacking the U.S. Capitol; but now included in that list will be reference to "Trump supporters" doing so, on the day that his defeat for re-election was finally determined. That is something he did to himself.

If I were advising President Trump, I'd say, "it's never too late to learn to be disciplined in your message"; but I am doubtful he's going to learn that lesson at this late date. The GOP really isn't impossibly stupid and they will, before very long, move into opposition to Biden; but they weren't going to do it while their supposed allies were breaking into the Capitol! And they aren't going to do it in the next few weeks when Biden takes his victory lap. Let him have his victory lap; it won't be long before all that fades and he actually has to do something. Blaming Trump won't work out very well for long, and as I said already, his field of action is very limited. He can issue executive orders (which can be overturned by his successor, and may be struck down by the courts). When Trump is out of the picture, the political landscape will change. Take some deep breaths and be patient.

Meanwhile, before and after all this is whether you have any faith, and what you have faith in. If you have faith in God, then learn to accept that God is more patient than you (and I!) want him to be. And consider also that what God considers a successful outcome isn't the same for us. God's will will prevail. That is certain. Whether your will, or mine, or any other creature's, will prevail? Very different.

Remember the words of our Lord: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his immortal soul"? Keep your soul. Keep to the law of love above all things.

Oh, and for all those on the left who suddenly discovered that rioting and intimidation is wrong? Welcome to the fight.

* I'm not really interested in litigating whether the 2020 election was stolen; but I'm addressing this point to people who are convinced that it was.