The Future Isn't What You Think

Come stare into my crystal ball with me for a few minutes.

September 18th, 2021

The MLB season is in the thick of the playoff race, stands filled to near capacity with fans excited by the play on the field. The NFL and NCAA football seasons have begun with attendance and TV ratings records. NASCAR is running their third playoff race and the fans are loving every minute of it.

President Biden and Congressional Democrats have stumbled from one misguided legislative agenda to another, failing to get any sort of foothold. The far left cannot convince moderate Democrats to fall in line with their agenda. Moderate Democrats can't get any legislation passed due to spiteful 'no' or 'present' votes from the far left.

Trump has slowly faded into the background as he attends to his business ventures and quietly plans his political future. Adrift and rudderless without constant input from their leader, the Trump right slowly faded back into their pre-2008 routine...their job, family, faith, and hobbies take more and more of their time until politics is just something to be aware of around election time. They still vote, but activism is for others...for the young and idealistic. The sky hasn't fallen as many of them were convinced it would.

Businesses are open and recovering. Many that closed in 2020 and early 2021 have begun plans to revive. The economy is still fragile, but stable. Investors are beginning to take more risks. Banks see a more stable future, so they begin to take a few minor risks. A new restaurant venture loan here, a real estate loan there. Recovery is still slow, but the specter of a massive collapse fades slowly every day.

The cries of social media McCarthyism die down as people either find an alternative or slide back to the major players.

The Beer Bug scare has subsided. People are either vaccinated or recovered. The mutations turned out to be a minor variant and were quickly overcome. There are a scattered few in high risk categories who still wear a mask for their own peace of mind, but masks are largely forgotten.

Your average walk down Main Street, USA in late 2021 looks little different than that same walk in 2019. People living their lives, dealing with their own concerns.

Why do I feel that this will be the outcome? Because I have seen it before. Obama was going to fast track us to communism/socialism/despotism. It didn't happen. Trump was going to get us into World War 3, kill Mexicans, and all the other hair on fire theories the left came up with. It didn't happen.

The political spectrum in the US varies wildly, but the overall direction an individual administration/Congress takes us is relatively narrow. It may swing violently in that window, but it rarely swings outside of it and never for very long. How far to the left this particular swing is is yet to be seen, but it isn't as far as some conservatives believe. It will be bumpy for sure, but nothing we can't handle.

There are always ideological clashes and swings. 2008. 2010. 2016. 2018. 2020. The ideological balance of all three branches of government are constantly in flux. Neither extreme is ever in a position of power. It is constant swings from middle left to middle right and various shades of center. The Biden Administration will be no different. Sure, there are more adherents of the far left to contend with in more areas of life than usual, but those are temporary. We have more wards of the state voting in their own interest than normal, sure, but will correct itself in time.

The truth that many refuse to acknowledge is that we have become a hugely impatient society. For many, if they do not get what they want immediately, they either scream and yell until they realize that yelling isn't going to work or they give up and move on. We are already seeing a lot of the first group. In the months to come, the ranks of the second group will grow noticably.

How many, on both sides, grow frustrated and walk away in the coming months is hard to predict. What can be predicted is the fact that it will happen. Life will return to a relatively normal state, the incendiary politics will be tamped down until another major issue makes it flare back up, and many people will remember that politics, while relatively important, isn't something worth being worked up over 24/7/365. This isn't the end of our Republic like my friends on the right like to claim. That same fact will irritate those on the left who are committed to ending our political/economical system. Significant political change in this country happens slowly most of the time and that is by design. It ebbs and flows along with socioeconomic changes. It has survived for over 230 years and it will continue for at least four more. Step back, take a breath, maybe take a short break, and reassess the battle. You can do it.

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu