It's Over

I voted.  The election is over.  Thank goodness for small favors.  What a mess, but it is what it is and there's no looking back.  I will say it is a good cautionary tale.  Never underestimate your opponent.

I skimmed through social media this morning and was saddened; dang, it's still not over.  There is much gnashing of teeth and rending of clothes, bashing of friends and hatred spewing back and forth.  And there's nothing anyone can do but get on with life.  I can't help but think it's all a big con anyway.  How did we get here?

The one thing that has always galled me about elections and medicine and the government and life in general are the so-called 'informed people'; the celebrities and pundits who take on the onerous task of schooling us common folk on issues we dunderheads could simply never understand.  

 Here we sit; little unedumacated simpletons, bumbling through life, longing for the light of truth to guide us.  Should we vaccinate our children?  What about this global warming?  Or wait, is it climate change?   Which candidate should I vote for?  Does mainstream medicine have all the answers?  Are all alternative doctors quacks and charlatans?  Do cures exist for horrible diseases but there's no money to made off of healthy people?  Can cars run on water?  Is Santa Claus real? 

Before I run off half-cocked (ugh, yet another redneck GUN reference!) to add another layer of tinfoil to my hat, I plumb forgot about the best source of unimpeachable information readily at hand any hour of the day..... Celebrities!  

Phew, I don't have to wrack my pitiful little brain for answers, I can simply turn on the TV and search for my favorite star's interpretation of how to live the rest of my life.  Oh, what a relief.  I can finally rest easy, now I know what to think.

Who better than a comedian or talk show host to show me the error of my ways?  Wait, I forgot about musicians, see, there I go again, being dumb.  Of course an actor would know what is going on in the world, I mean, duh...they make their living pretending to be someone else.   And singers sing songs about stuff.  They totally get it.  They are Informed. 

If we didn't have famous people who make a million bucks an appearance to pretend to be something they're not tell us what to do, what would happen to us as a society?  Life is not fair. The blue-collar guy digging a ditch in the hot sun will never receive an Academy Award for 'Best Performance With a Shovel'.  His wife and children will never receive a 'Best Supporting Cast' award, either.  Sadly, the hierarchy of people who know what is appropriate in this world trickles down to the less than famous, too...

I remember being hired to move some trees for a guy a decade ago.  Carl's work future was very uncertain at the time; his employer was facing bankruptcy and we weren't sure what would happen.  An acquaintance asked if we could move some trees for his son and I agreed. Joel was still in high school and was coming to help me later on in the day, but I headed over to the site in the morning and worked alone until noon. The owner came out to talk to me while I ate my lunch and after a bit of getting-to-know-you-isms,  I stupidly confided in him about the uncertain job situation.  Which, I came to find out, was a big mistake.
  
"People who don't have an education shouldn't complain about how their lives turn out," he said.  "I went to college and am an administrator of food services at a hospital.  I've never cooked in a kitchen in my life and what's more, I never will. I don't need to get my hands dirty; I only need to manage the people under me."  

He clearly fancied himself as superior to me and mine because he was college educated.  

He continued, "People who choose to work with their hands instead of their heads have no one to blame but themselves."

Huh.  

Well, mister, let me get this here ol' tree spade out of your driveway then.   Oh, by the way, my husband who, Amazingly, works with his hands AND his head, built this hydraulically driven tree spade from scratch.  And me, his wife, who is also tragically, uneducated, knows how to operate it to successfully transplant your trees, which by the way, were stupidly planted since your high-falutin' education apparently didn't prepare you for the reality of spacing evergreens farther than six inches apart in the first place.  If you're so smart, why do you need us Commoners to assist you?

Ok, I know, Sensitive Much?  But it galled me.  He made me feel small, insignificant, stupid.  Truth be told, no one can make you feel anything, but I'm human and it stung.  I felt immediate rage welling up inside me; my husband, whom he had never met, was under attack by a pompous ass of an 'intellectual'.  Yeah, well, buddy, I hope you're never stranded somewhere.  I'd hate to see you break a sweat.  Or a nail. 

I was at a loss for a reply.  Yet again, another person who 'knows better' is dictating the way everyone should live.  Celebrities are telling everyone who to vote for, how to eat, what to believe.  I don't know what the uppity food service administrator would do if every Cook suddenly decided to leave their pots unattended; if every Shovel Operator left the trench undug, if every Housewife with a tree spade decided she was above physical labor.  Hmmm...what would happen?  

Wait!  Don't panic, I'll ask a celebrity!  They'll know.  

I hope the hand-wringing stops.  Enough already, what's done is done; can't we all just play nice? Truly, take the plank out of your own eye before you remove the speck from mine. We're all in this together. 

Now, where did I leave my shovel?  I've got a septic tank to install.