Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Monday, November 14, 2016
Results
So, Donald Trump is the new president. You may recall that I predicted that this very thing would never happen. I’m mature enough to admit that I was wrong, though that’s not the purpose of this post. Instead, I’d like to offer my thoughts about the recent election, including the results.
First, as I already mentioned, I didn’t support either candidate. I felt that both Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton were bad choices, so I voted for someone who I believed would do the best job, despite knowing that he had no real chance of succeeding. I feel good about my decision and I’m glad that I voted the way that I did.
Second, I was surprised that Trump won. Polls showed Clinton as the leader, though by a narrow margin. In addition to the polls, most media outlets mocked the Trump campaign and his supporters, leading many people—including me—to believe that while the election would be close, Clinton would be the victor. When Trump won, I think we were all caught off guard. However, that’s actually a bit inspiring. My boss, Magda, is originally from Poland and spent several years in Mexico. She’s seen her share of rigged elections and she thought that Trump’s success proved that the American election process was honest. As she put it, “It shows that the system works.” Despite my lack of support for the president-elect, I must admit that her words do give me hope.
Third, I think I understand where Trump supporters are coming from. When I served my mission in northern Ohio, I spent the majority of my time in more rural areas. I remember one town in particular that had once been a manufacturing hub with four different plants. By the time I visited, three of the plants had shut down and the third had slowed production. The town was dying and the residents didn’t know how to cope. I also remember meeting farmers who were using old, outdated equipment because, despite receiving government subsidies, they couldn’t afford to replace anything. Most (if not all) of Obama’s policies benefited the working poor and middle class in cities, not the country. After eight years of a president who they felt was ignoring them, the people who didn’t live in a major city wanted someone very different. While Trump certainly had supporters in urban communities, the majority of his success was with people out in the country.
Fourth, protests are happening in cities across the US because of Trump’s surprise victory. But what’s the end goal of those involved? This isn’t like other recent protests such as those condemning police brutality—in those cases, the protestors wanted to be treated better by police, something that should happen anyway. With the case of the new president-elect, the protestors are complaining about not getting their way. Besides that, Trump isn’t even president yet. He’s been elected, but he won’t be sworn in until early next year. Even if we don’t trust Trump, can’t we at least give our fellow Americans the benefit of the doubt for choosing him? And even if we can’t there’s nothing that can be done at this point. If he’s a bad president, he can be impeached, but there is no constitutional way to prevent him from taking office come January.
Finally, I was disappointed by how little respect Trump supporters got from the media. Not the man himself—Trump makes himself an easy target for ridicule—but the citizens who attended his rallies and put his signs in their front yards. They were depicted as dumb hicks and religious zealots who were too stupid to be reasoned with. The fact that they were mocked so much may have had a hand in the election’s outcome. While I haven’t heard of anyone saying that they voted for Trump as a way of protesting this mockery, I’m sure that at the very least it kept them from considering Clinton. I imagine one of these people watching Saturday Night Live, Last Week Tonight, or even The Tonight Show and hearing something to the equivalent of “Are you thinking about voting for Trump? Here’s a list of ways that you’re stupid.” That kind of rhetoric isn’t going to convince anyone that isn’t already on your side.
I do like some of the things I’ve seen (mostly on Facebook) where people are sharing the sentiment that we need to unite as a citizenry and respect each other and the way we voted. I didn’t vote for Trump and I don’t care for the man or his politics, but I believe in this country. America is not a bunch of rules and documents; it’s people who believe in each other and those who have gone before us. I believe in America and I hope that the rest of my brothers and sister in this, the greatest nation in the world, can share that faith with me.
First, as I already mentioned, I didn’t support either candidate. I felt that both Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton were bad choices, so I voted for someone who I believed would do the best job, despite knowing that he had no real chance of succeeding. I feel good about my decision and I’m glad that I voted the way that I did.
Second, I was surprised that Trump won. Polls showed Clinton as the leader, though by a narrow margin. In addition to the polls, most media outlets mocked the Trump campaign and his supporters, leading many people—including me—to believe that while the election would be close, Clinton would be the victor. When Trump won, I think we were all caught off guard. However, that’s actually a bit inspiring. My boss, Magda, is originally from Poland and spent several years in Mexico. She’s seen her share of rigged elections and she thought that Trump’s success proved that the American election process was honest. As she put it, “It shows that the system works.” Despite my lack of support for the president-elect, I must admit that her words do give me hope.
Third, I think I understand where Trump supporters are coming from. When I served my mission in northern Ohio, I spent the majority of my time in more rural areas. I remember one town in particular that had once been a manufacturing hub with four different plants. By the time I visited, three of the plants had shut down and the third had slowed production. The town was dying and the residents didn’t know how to cope. I also remember meeting farmers who were using old, outdated equipment because, despite receiving government subsidies, they couldn’t afford to replace anything. Most (if not all) of Obama’s policies benefited the working poor and middle class in cities, not the country. After eight years of a president who they felt was ignoring them, the people who didn’t live in a major city wanted someone very different. While Trump certainly had supporters in urban communities, the majority of his success was with people out in the country.
Fourth, protests are happening in cities across the US because of Trump’s surprise victory. But what’s the end goal of those involved? This isn’t like other recent protests such as those condemning police brutality—in those cases, the protestors wanted to be treated better by police, something that should happen anyway. With the case of the new president-elect, the protestors are complaining about not getting their way. Besides that, Trump isn’t even president yet. He’s been elected, but he won’t be sworn in until early next year. Even if we don’t trust Trump, can’t we at least give our fellow Americans the benefit of the doubt for choosing him? And even if we can’t there’s nothing that can be done at this point. If he’s a bad president, he can be impeached, but there is no constitutional way to prevent him from taking office come January.
Finally, I was disappointed by how little respect Trump supporters got from the media. Not the man himself—Trump makes himself an easy target for ridicule—but the citizens who attended his rallies and put his signs in their front yards. They were depicted as dumb hicks and religious zealots who were too stupid to be reasoned with. The fact that they were mocked so much may have had a hand in the election’s outcome. While I haven’t heard of anyone saying that they voted for Trump as a way of protesting this mockery, I’m sure that at the very least it kept them from considering Clinton. I imagine one of these people watching Saturday Night Live, Last Week Tonight, or even The Tonight Show and hearing something to the equivalent of “Are you thinking about voting for Trump? Here’s a list of ways that you’re stupid.” That kind of rhetoric isn’t going to convince anyone that isn’t already on your side.
I do like some of the things I’ve seen (mostly on Facebook) where people are sharing the sentiment that we need to unite as a citizenry and respect each other and the way we voted. I didn’t vote for Trump and I don’t care for the man or his politics, but I believe in this country. America is not a bunch of rules and documents; it’s people who believe in each other and those who have gone before us. I believe in America and I hope that the rest of my brothers and sister in this, the greatest nation in the world, can share that faith with me.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Poll Dancer
Today, I exercised my civic responsibility and voted. It was not only my first time voting in Maryland, it was my first time voting outside of California.
The polling place I was assigned to was a local Shriner's temple. After a bit of confusion on which room I was assigned (I was in the clubhouse, not the dining hall), I had my ballot. In addition to voting for Evan McMullin as a write-in presidential candidate, I voted on local matters, nearly all of which entailed Baltimore County borrowing money for civic works projects.
As I was leaving, I saw a mother with her daughter outside selling Girl Scout cookies. I was impressed with the cleverness of their location choice ("Feeling awful about the election? Drown your sorrows in sugar!"), so I bought a couple of boxes to share with the office.
To my surprise, I was feeling anxious as I drove to the polling place. I didn't know why I was feeling that way, but as I drove away feeling relieved, it was clear what the cause was. This election cycle has been terrible in so many ways and I'm just glad it's over.
Hopefully our country is strong enough to withstand whichever deplorable person makes it to the White House. Fingers crossed!
The polling place I was assigned to was a local Shriner's temple. After a bit of confusion on which room I was assigned (I was in the clubhouse, not the dining hall), I had my ballot. In addition to voting for Evan McMullin as a write-in presidential candidate, I voted on local matters, nearly all of which entailed Baltimore County borrowing money for civic works projects.
As I was leaving, I saw a mother with her daughter outside selling Girl Scout cookies. I was impressed with the cleverness of their location choice ("Feeling awful about the election? Drown your sorrows in sugar!"), so I bought a couple of boxes to share with the office.
To my surprise, I was feeling anxious as I drove to the polling place. I didn't know why I was feeling that way, but as I drove away feeling relieved, it was clear what the cause was. This election cycle has been terrible in so many ways and I'm just glad it's over.
Hopefully our country is strong enough to withstand whichever deplorable person makes it to the White House. Fingers crossed!
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
#IanandSherlin2016
This past weekend, my brother Ian married his fiancé Sherlin. Not everything was perfect, but it all came together when it mattered.
Leah met me at my apartment on Friday morning (both of us took the day off) and we took my car to Ian’s place. We weren’t there long before we caravanned to Ian’s ward building to prepare for the reception. After setting up the tables and about a dozen chairs, I noticed that the floor of the cultural hall was in need of vacuuming, so I volunteered myself for the task. While I vacuumed, Ian, Sherlin, Isaac, Falisha, and Leah worked on more intricate preparations like setting up the microphone and putting tablecloths on the tables. A lot of the decorations were customized by Sherlin and her friends, like the table banner with handwritten letters or the custom, machine-cut candle holders, making everything feel all the more unique.
In the evening, when we were supposed to be practicing at the chapel at Fort Meade, we stood around in the brisk air just outside. Due to a lack of communication and a severe case of absent-mindedness, the caretaker of the chapel key had failed to unlock the building for us. There was a lot of discussion over how long we should wait, but eventually it was decided that we would practice in the hall of the nearby commissary. We got plenty of odd looks as we lined up and practiced our entrances, but it helped us work out a few kinks, so I think it was worth it. After a few times through, we were done. Ian invited us back to his place for pizza, which I took him up on.
Since tradition dictates that the groom should not see his bride before she walks down the aisle, Ian stayed at my apartment, along with Isaac and Henry. I was very tired after all of the setting up we did, so I asked Ian to drive for me. Isaac rode shotgun, which put Leah and me in the backseat. It was a bit strange sitting in the back of my car for the first time, but it was nice to relax.
The following morning, after all of the Larsen men were dressed in our wedding finery, we drove back down to Ian’s ward building for a final bit of preparation. After the fiasco of not being able to get into the chapel on base, Ian planned ahead and got permission from his bishop to have the wedding ceremony there, just in case. He made sure that very few people even knew about the backup plan, but those who did were sworn to secrecy—he didn’t want to stress out Sherlin who had plenty of things on her plate already. Thankfully, the building was unlocked and we were able to proceed as planned.
The ceremony itself was lovely. While the words of the chaplain were nice, I really liked the individual vows that Ian and Sherlin wrote: they both included each other’s kids in their vows, promising their love to them as well. I looked over at the bridesmaids from my spot at the front of the line of groomsmen a few times and saw that all of them were tearing up. Needless to say, it was beautiful to see these two people dedicate themselves to each other.
After the wedding, the reception began. Most of the food had been prepared by Sherlin and it was delicious, as always. The cake was great too, despite the center tier (which I made) not being as structurally sound as hoped—still, it held up long enough to be cut, which is what really matters.
Iris gave her maid of honor speech, which was beautifully prepared. Then the groomsmen got up to deliver ours. Ian had decided that he wanted to have us play an improv game for our speech and had given us our instructions a few weeks prior: we would all stand in a line and say a single word each in succession, until we had each said six words (for a total of thirty-six words). When he gave us our assignment (via email), I immediately responded that he was being ridiculous. I had decided that I would just be as silly as possible and say “dinosaur” or “laser” at some point, but one of the more practical groomsmen just wrote a speech for us to use. Even though it defied Ian’s instructions to be spontaneous with our speech, I was happy to have something prepared. Another groomsman suggested that we just write our words on our hands and blatantly read them when we delivered the speech, which we did. Even so, we had to practice it a few times before the reception started, but it all worked out and I think that Ian appreciated the effort we made, even if didn’t follow all of his instructions.
Margot and Bryan sang a song that Sherlin had specifically chosen for the day. They did a wonderful job and sang the song beautifully. Then Sherlin and Ian shared their first dance.
Leah got involved, too. On the way to the ward building, she picked up washable markers to write on the windows of Ian's truck. She got Iris, Falisha, Margot, and Jen (Sherlin’s best friend) to help her with the decorating and I think it was a nice bonding experience for them all. I then worked to keep Ian away from his truck until they left for the evening. I’m sure Ian thought I was being very nice running out to his truck for things a few times, but I was mostly just keeping him inside. As for how the surprise went over, I can’t say. When it was time for the big reveal, I was busy wrangling my several nieces and nephews. Still, I suspect that they enjoyed it.
One important activity that happens at every wedding is the bouquet toss. Sherlin was very inclusive and invited all the women in the room to participate, regardless of marital status. Even with the big crowd, Leah caught the bouquet. Does that mean anything? We’ll have to wait and see.
I’m so happy for my brother and new sister-in-law. Marriage is tough and with them each coming from a failed one, it would be easy to swear off marriage entirely. But they knew what they wanted in a spouse and found it in each other. I wish them the best and look forward to many happy times with them and their children.
Congratulations, Ian and Sherlin!
Leah met me at my apartment on Friday morning (both of us took the day off) and we took my car to Ian’s place. We weren’t there long before we caravanned to Ian’s ward building to prepare for the reception. After setting up the tables and about a dozen chairs, I noticed that the floor of the cultural hall was in need of vacuuming, so I volunteered myself for the task. While I vacuumed, Ian, Sherlin, Isaac, Falisha, and Leah worked on more intricate preparations like setting up the microphone and putting tablecloths on the tables. A lot of the decorations were customized by Sherlin and her friends, like the table banner with handwritten letters or the custom, machine-cut candle holders, making everything feel all the more unique.
Preparations
In the evening, when we were supposed to be practicing at the chapel at Fort Meade, we stood around in the brisk air just outside. Due to a lack of communication and a severe case of absent-mindedness, the caretaker of the chapel key had failed to unlock the building for us. There was a lot of discussion over how long we should wait, but eventually it was decided that we would practice in the hall of the nearby commissary. We got plenty of odd looks as we lined up and practiced our entrances, but it helped us work out a few kinks, so I think it was worth it. After a few times through, we were done. Ian invited us back to his place for pizza, which I took him up on.
Since tradition dictates that the groom should not see his bride before she walks down the aisle, Ian stayed at my apartment, along with Isaac and Henry. I was very tired after all of the setting up we did, so I asked Ian to drive for me. Isaac rode shotgun, which put Leah and me in the backseat. It was a bit strange sitting in the back of my car for the first time, but it was nice to relax.
The following morning, after all of the Larsen men were dressed in our wedding finery, we drove back down to Ian’s ward building for a final bit of preparation. After the fiasco of not being able to get into the chapel on base, Ian planned ahead and got permission from his bishop to have the wedding ceremony there, just in case. He made sure that very few people even knew about the backup plan, but those who did were sworn to secrecy—he didn’t want to stress out Sherlin who had plenty of things on her plate already. Thankfully, the building was unlocked and we were able to proceed as planned.
Time to start!
The ceremony itself was lovely. While the words of the chaplain were nice, I really liked the individual vows that Ian and Sherlin wrote: they both included each other’s kids in their vows, promising their love to them as well. I looked over at the bridesmaids from my spot at the front of the line of groomsmen a few times and saw that all of them were tearing up. Needless to say, it was beautiful to see these two people dedicate themselves to each other.
Since I was in the bridal party, I don't have any pictures of the actual ceremony,
so here's one of the chaplain signing the marriage certificate.
After the wedding, the reception began. Most of the food had been prepared by Sherlin and it was delicious, as always. The cake was great too, despite the center tier (which I made) not being as structurally sound as hoped—still, it held up long enough to be cut, which is what really matters.
So much good food!
Iris gave her maid of honor speech, which was beautifully prepared. Then the groomsmen got up to deliver ours. Ian had decided that he wanted to have us play an improv game for our speech and had given us our instructions a few weeks prior: we would all stand in a line and say a single word each in succession, until we had each said six words (for a total of thirty-six words). When he gave us our assignment (via email), I immediately responded that he was being ridiculous. I had decided that I would just be as silly as possible and say “dinosaur” or “laser” at some point, but one of the more practical groomsmen just wrote a speech for us to use. Even though it defied Ian’s instructions to be spontaneous with our speech, I was happy to have something prepared. Another groomsman suggested that we just write our words on our hands and blatantly read them when we delivered the speech, which we did. Even so, we had to practice it a few times before the reception started, but it all worked out and I think that Ian appreciated the effort we made, even if didn’t follow all of his instructions.
A lovely speech by a lovely lady.
Margot and Bryan sang a song that Sherlin had specifically chosen for the day. They did a wonderful job and sang the song beautifully. Then Sherlin and Ian shared their first dance.
After I posted this picture to Facebook, Ian adopted it as his new profile picture. I guess that means he liked it!
Leah got involved, too. On the way to the ward building, she picked up washable markers to write on the windows of Ian's truck. She got Iris, Falisha, Margot, and Jen (Sherlin’s best friend) to help her with the decorating and I think it was a nice bonding experience for them all. I then worked to keep Ian away from his truck until they left for the evening. I’m sure Ian thought I was being very nice running out to his truck for things a few times, but I was mostly just keeping him inside. As for how the surprise went over, I can’t say. When it was time for the big reveal, I was busy wrangling my several nieces and nephews. Still, I suspect that they enjoyed it.
Sometimes wrangling kids is adorable.
One important activity that happens at every wedding is the bouquet toss. Sherlin was very inclusive and invited all the women in the room to participate, regardless of marital status. Even with the big crowd, Leah caught the bouquet. Does that mean anything? We’ll have to wait and see.
She shoots!
And it's good!
I’m so happy for my brother and new sister-in-law. Marriage is tough and with them each coming from a failed one, it would be easy to swear off marriage entirely. But they knew what they wanted in a spouse and found it in each other. I wish them the best and look forward to many happy times with them and their children.
Congratulations, Ian and Sherlin!
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