2022 is coming to a close, and I would like to reflect on what I have done with this blog and what I have planned for next year.  First though, I want to talk on an issue that has been on my mind for the past 2 years: the state of American Democracy.

After the 2020 elections, I was dismayed at the attempt by Donald Trump to overturn the election and the Republican Party’s support of those efforts.  The newspaper articles reassuring everyone about how the various plans by Trump and Co were longshots meant little to me.  Republicans supported the overturning of an election, and that to me, was outrageous.  After January 6th and over the next 2 years, I constantly worried about the state of our Democracy.  I felt that there were cracks in our constitutional foundation that kept getting larger. Despite reading polls saying that large majorities of Americans shared my concerns, I would look at people at the Supermarket and wonder: are they as worried about Democracy as I am?  Have they been so bombarded with ads about the shortcomings of politicians that they would not care about the current crop of appalling candidates?

Fortunately, the answer was a resounding no!  Many of the candidates who were the worst election deniers were defeated.  What was even better was that many of them conceded without a fuss.  There was barely any post-election drama with regards to election certification by counties and states unlike 2 years ago.  There were even some ballot measures on the State level that aimed to prevent defeated candidates from attempting to overturn their losses, such as in Michigan.  There was endless coverage of the amendment to enshrine Abortion in the State Constitution, but there was also Proposal 2: an amendment that would expand early voting, prohibit politicians from overseeing election audits, and require that canvass boards only certify the results based on the official record of votes cast.  The cherry on top was the reforms to the Electoral Count Act that Congress passed last week that would clarify ambiguities that Donald Trump and his allies tried to exploit in order to steal the election.  I feel a sort of joy in December 2022 that stands in stark contrast to the anxiety I felt in December 2020.

The origins of my blog:  When people have energy to release, some take a walk, and some jog.  I do something different.  I pace.  I will go outside my apartment building and pace on the lawn in front.  Sometimes I pace for 10 minutes, sometimes, 45 minutes.  It is a habit I’ve had for a long time.  While I pace, I will talk through my thoughts out loud, usually being about sports, family, or politics.  As I paced and talked, I began to feel like my thoughts were perceptive enough to be able to convey in some form.  I thought it would be nice to write intelligent posts on some forum.  I pondered the idea in my head for a few years, then a few months ago, I started writing posts on Facebook, and in November, I created my blog. 

I am proud of my content that I have put out so far.  While my audience is still small, I am happy about the people who have taken the time to read my posts.  In 2023, I will continue to develop my blog, and am planning big things.  The topics I will write about will grow, but I will continue series such as “Politicians doing good things”.  Thank you to everyone who reads and comments on my posts.  See you in the New Year!