Truth: The Consequences, and Unintended consequences.

"In this life, we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices." --James E. Faust Now that the elections have finished up, and the final votes have been tallied-Most places can sigh in relief that things might actually get the turnaround that the country needs on the national level. But here in Missouri, specifically in the Ozarks region through the entire region, it has a different kind of feel. It's a mix of bag of emotions flowing through our little region, but the one thing that is standing out is disappointment, hopelessness, and rage. And I would dare say even some despair to a certain degree. Between questionable ballot measures passing to the vague descriptions on them to having to pick the "lesser evils" on the ballot for representation. It turned out to be more of the same for good folks that live in this part of the country. Even the candidates that we were rooting for in other districts took some losses. That merely added an extra kick in the teeth for most of us that have zero representation other than by the appearance of it. And yes, I am a little extra salty today myself, not because some of my friends lost their campaigns (yes I am sad about that) but the overall turn the state took. I don't think it's the fact, that they're republican as much as what they stand for. Eric Schmitt and Jason Smith both got their seats without really having to campaign much. Both of these guys have proved that they're willing to overthrow the government to keep power, and our lawmakers in the Missouri Legislation branch seem to fall right in line with that atrocious notion. Yes on a national level things look a bit brighter, but here in the state of Missouri ..not so much. Given the fact, that amendment 4 [1] and 5 [2]was overwhelmingly passed is a little unnerving--Particularly with the crazies that won reelections. I mean these are the same insane folks that told every Missourian that they're no longer entitled to the "right of privacy" and that women of the state are mere property and only considered half a person over the summer. And how did our folks respond? Well, they voted for giving the state the right to take away local control and their own private army. Now, we could argue the Constitution Convention was the most dangerous measure on the ballot, but with the consideration that they already denied half the population's right to be considered a full person, ignore voters' wishes, and flat-out try to nullify federal laws.[3] Now, they're coming after our ability to get the legislation we want or need on the ballot --so folks will have no say in the democratic process. That's right. Kicking off the new Missouri Legislative season, they're already wanting to gun down our ballot initiatives.[4] Don't get me wrong, they have been quietly trying to do away with ballot initiatives for years, but now they're just telling us outright what they're going to do. This leaves the question of what consequences are we going to have to live with at the end of the day? The is answer I don't have one or at least one that doesn't sound like I'm a card-carrying member of the "National Tin foil hat Society". I do think that we're in uncharted territory with a failed state that is bound and determined to be a completely authoritarian state to enforce its sovereignty. And honestly, it's bringing out the very worst in people. I mean the uptick in blaming "rural" people for the low turnout for the election is running rampant more than usual. I mean personally, I find myself in the space I was in July-By defending folks for merely living in a particular location. And I can't help but think it's a bit ironic in the sense that this kind of bickering and division is exactly what our crazies in the super majority love to see due to not being a united front. And yes this is bad for everybody because it allows those crazies to go unsupervised and do whatever they want to do. That means it's typically it's rarely for the benefit or interests of a collective whole. Do I think it's an intended consequence? I would argue the point that " yes it is", because be it racism, classism sexism, etc has always been the infamous tactic of the patriarchal society since the being of time. I won't though, because I shouldn't have to state the obvious. Fear is another big factor in the consequences. Most of us, are a little uneasy with those two amendments wildly passing without so much of a second thought. The intended consequence was to get us scared of them rather than the other way around. And any functioning democracy or government body, the idea has always been that politicians should fear being held accountable by their constituents. Not the other way around. While there are so many consequences to this election for the state, there's an equal amount of unintended ones too. By unintended consequences, I mean the surprising response by folks from across the state with reaching out with wanting to connect with other folks going through the same emotions. I discovered that after I started a thread on Twitter expressing my saltiness about the election like everyone else. It was something to behold because these folks came from all walks of life to be in solidarity and wanted to know how we can fix it before the next critical election cycle comes around. All I could think was "Wow this could really keep the momentum of the Dirt Road Democrats up".. And that's what grassroots are all about at the end of the day. Coming together and pulling off what seems to be the impossible, even with some possible "dark days" ahead of us... I mean I have no clue as to what kind of fresh new level of hell the supermajority will unleash on the average Missourian this legislative session because I am neither psychic nor a fortune-teller. But I don't think the shock of this election of putting two insurrectionists in congress and insane ballot measures passing is going to wear off anytime soon. I mean as a being an "activist" that is horrified by what the state is becoming-- Especially since they're already coming out of the gate in a full sprint towards their full intentions of seizing full power throughout the state. I can just like so many of us, hold our breath, prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. It's the Missourian way I suppose. But I do know if we can keep connecting like we do from everywhere and with every walk of life, we will be able to take back our state and move past the draconian political leaders we now have. We deserve better and I have no doubt that we can achieve that given what I've seen over the past few months with folks. So hang on and keep fighting. Let's give those folks a run for their money and give them some unintended consequences like accountability and a pushback they're not expecting because we deserve to be able to survive with the consequences of political leaders' decision-making. As always take care and be good to one another, Much love and peace out, Jojo Editors note: the amendments were deceptively written so they would pass due to folks not paying attention to what the state lawmakers are doing in Jefferson City Citations: 1. https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Amendment_4,_Allow_Legislature_to_Require_a_City_to_Increase_Funding_without_State_Reimbursement_for_a_Police_Force_Established_by_State_Board_Amendment_(2022) 2. https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Amendment_5,_Department_of_the_National_Guard_Amendment_(2022) 3. https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills131/biltxt/intro/hb0436I.HTM 4. https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-11-11/new-missouri-senate-majority-leader-sees-ballot-initiatives-and-education-as-top-issues