On November 9, a huge bomb detonated. It wasn’t something I was prepared for; a situation pushed to the back of my mind because the chances of it actually occurring seemed so unlikely, nearly impossible.
Then it happened.
Shock, disappointment, helplessness, fear and a few other unfamiliar emotions I don’t know how to describe quickly set in. I’m usually really calm in stressful events, and this was no exception. I reeled the emotions back in and got to work, but by the end of the day I felt exhausted.
The bomb wasn’t a rocket, VBIED, MBIED, BBIED or PBIED that we see around here. This bomb hit the homeland… in the form of election results.
I’ve now given myself some time to reflect, read some insightful social media posts, wished long and hard for a beer. I realized the world will not end and I am not in any more danger here in Afghanistan than I was the day before. I was also able look at the entire situation from the perspective of an advertising/communications campaign person and have to give the man credit; he took a risk targeting uneducated white people who generally do not vote, his campaign narrative catered to that demographic perfectly, despicably or not, and by the skin of his teeth and the shitty electoral college, he won.
Now all we can hope for a unified nation and no major diplomatic disasters. But hell, GW seemed like a total buffoon and lacked any cultural awareness and he only started two wars, one that I’m still here fighting now. The point is, America will survive, cause that’s what we do.