Were social justice warriors responsible for the election outcome?

[Kosh]

It's truly a mystery why they'd ever think it was a good idea to build a fucking economy on Coal.  An energy source that is going to die whether they like it or not.  But no, it should totally be put on life support so we can speed up this whole global warming thing.  Who wants breathable air?

Why do people support it so much?  Well, little people support it because their jobs depend on coal and oil and natural gas and other fossil fuels.  But that isn't why politicians support it.

Politicians support the coal industry for the same reason they support anything: their financial backers tell them to support it.  Their campaigns are financed by fossil fuel industries; have been for years.  If they step out of line, if they try to take money from coal industries and put it elsewhere, they'll suddenly find themselves unable to raise enough money to run an effective campaign.  But the problem with this is, they're working to put money in the pockets of the company CEO, not the workers of the company.

And this gets to the root of the problem with politics in general: both sides are more worried about money than they are people.  I mean, I understand WHY they're worried about money, but that doesn't mean I like it.  Anyone read 1984?  I've been re-reading it lately and one of the ideas in there has been coming to mind a lot this election: We have an upper class that's in power, a middle class that wants to be in power and a lower class that just wants everyone to have a shot to make it.  The middle class courts the lower class to gain power, they preach about how they'll help the lower class, but when they're in power all they do is try to solidify their position at top.  Meanwhile, the old upper class (which has become the current middle class) begins courting the middle class in an attempt to retake the spot at the top of the hill.  And the cycle continues, endlessly.  I guess the underlying concern for all of this is how to fix the problem?

Fixing the problem is easy.  More emphasis on education and job retraining.  I'm not just talking about college.  I'm talking about tech, trade, and apprenticeships as well. 

The problem is that education of any kind is way down the list of what's important to many people.  I would argue that it's way down the list in terms of importance by the people who need it the most. 

People are more concerned with who is getting welfare, who is getting married, who is having or (not having babies), who is walking across the border, who is going to take their guns, who is or isn't going to church, who is using which bathroom, and somewhere around #200 (sarcasm) is quality affordable education.

My wife spent six years going to college to become a teacher.  She was licensed to teach pre-k through sixth grade.  She's an RN for 20 years.  Guess why?