Well, not many people saw that coming.
Last Tuesday night, Donald Trump stunned many by winning the U.S. election. No matter how you feel about him, the comments he made during the campaign, how he treated people or the policies he proposed, he won. Love it or hate it, that's democracy.
It's interesting that he won the electoral college, but not the popular vote. It's not the first time that's happened. Just ask Al Gore about that one. Oddly, there's no outcry to change their electoral system.
Now there's been nightly protests in many U.S. cities. It may be cathartic, just to let Trump know he's not really as popular as he thinks he is, but it doesn't change the fact he got more votes where it counted, and now he will be in charge.
Personally, I'm just glad it's over. The campaign had started to consume people's attention. It was the new OJ trial - people were glued to the TV, holding their breath to hear what Trump had said or what Hillary Clinton may or may not have done. It was a daily smorgasbord of Breaking News.
Now that the election is done, reality will set in, and the rhetoric of the campaign runs headlong into the reality of governing. There's already been backpedaling on promises, like there is for virtually any candidate.
So how did it happen? There seem to be few people who will admit they voted for Trump, yet there were minorities who voted for him, women who voted for him, all the groups of people he had insulted. Did it really matter what he said?
I've read a lot of articles in the aftermath of the election. The one that seems to make the most sense said the media took him literally but not seriously, where the public took him seriously, not literally. But once you are in the voting booth, it's just you and the ballot. There is no need to justify how you vote, it's entirely up to you. It's one of the only places you'll never be questioned about your opinion, no matter how popular or unpopular your opinion is. The polls were wrong (where have we seen that before?). The pundits were wrong. The media was wrong. The only poll that got it right was the second place you don't need to justify your opinions - Google.
Apparently, Google has been right for many elections over the past decade. Google keeps track of what people search for, but they don't put names to the searches. Again, your true thoughts, anonymously.
I hope the U.S. election doesn't set a new standard in campaigns. I hope we can find better candidates that will look for solutions to problems instead of how to one-up each other. We need good leaders who can keep the economy going, keep people working and support those who can't help themselves.
That's my opinion. You might have a different one. That's democracy. And last Friday was a reminder of why we have this choice. Lest we forget.
Brad Sherwin, MBA has over 25 years' experience in marketing, public relations and business strategy. He is currently the director of marketing for a national non-profit organization.
