West Hawaii Today’s Nov. 15 editorial page provided insight into the intelligence and caring nature of our island’s people. All except for one. Leonora Prince’s self-righteous offering as well as post-election interactions show that it’s easier to be a gracious loser than a gracious winner, even in our Aloha State.
It may further the Republican Party’s goals for the majority of Americans to “get over” the election results (news alert: Clinton won the popular vote); but the healing process requires people like Prince to act more in accordance with their proclaimed spiritual roots and human decency. That includes listening and empathizing with fellow community members — not rubbing salt into their wounds.
Trump was right about one thing: the system is rigged, though not as he claims. Democrats won the popular vote in 2000 and 2016, yet lost the White House due to the Electoral College – an antiquated system that is a relic of our republic. That system, along with restrictive voter laws imposed by Republicans around the country, has served conservatives well. Add Republican gerrymandering of districts created to suit conservative ends, and there are potentially many millions of voters deemed sympathetic to Democratic ideals who have been systematically disenfranchised from taking part and being counted in the most sacred process of voting.
If peace and a united citizenry are Ms. Prince’s goal, she and others who share her political views need to stop jabbering on about how great it is to have a leader and a government of one party – one that adamantly vows to disassemble what others in their community and nation have supported and strove for, some for decades and even generations. A majority of Prince’s fellow citizens believe in universal health care, equality for minorities and women, affordable education, a protected natural environment, workers’ safety, religious freedom and tolerance, Social Security and Medicare safety nets (aka “entitlements”), a press free of corporate influence, fair elections and taxation, voting access to all citizens — basic tenets upon which our nation was founded and which continue to make it great.
Get over it? Never. Democracy isn’t meant to be a game with a “Super Bowl” ending that leaves winners taking all. Our government was designed to be — and, overall, has been — a “win-win” institution meant to lift all boats.
Good people will continue to fight for a fair, representative democracy. The majority of Americans who voted “other than Trump” hope that Republicans will join them on that most bedrock, American quest.
Janice Palma-Glennie is a resident of Kailua-Kona