What I Learned from the Election

Professor Hank here offering for your consideration my top five lessons learned from our just concluded election.

Lesson 1 

We need a national civics lesson. In many ways, this election was no different than any other in recent memory.

So, we should be concerned that so many of our friends, neighbors, and family members -- and apparently even our current President and at least some of his supporters -- don't understand the process.  

The media does not decide the final outcome of an election. It does, however, make projections on probable winners based on turnout, historical and day-of voting patterns, and the chances of one candidate overtaking the other given the number of ballots still to be counted. 

They're also very cautious about making projections. For example, NBC's standard for making a call this year was 99.5% certainty. 

Absentee/mail in ballots can sometimes be inputted for several days after the election itself to account for delivery delays. This includes ballots from our overseas military. In the vast majority of past elections, their numbers were too small to impact final results. This year they did, 

Final vote totals are often not officially "certified" until several weeks after an election. Nonetheless, most candidates -- including President Trump in 2016 -- claim victory on Election Night based on projections, trends, and their own internal campaign information.  

Four years ago this week, President-elect Trump was meeting with President Obama to discuss the transition. I don't recall anyone saying "Hey, wait a minute, the vote totals aren't certified."

Historically, most allegations of fraud don't stand up under close examination. They also rarely, if ever, involve the number of votes required to change an outcome. Lawsuits that challenge procedural issues don't nullify actual votes. 

The concept that every vote needs to be counted, no matter how long it takes, is essential to our democracy.  Given the size of the turnout and the number of options we had to vote this year, there was nothing sinister or underhanded about taking extra time to be sure every ballot was counted.  

That's how it should be.

Lesson 2

Social media and the internet have become a mosh pit of mis- and dis-information. Some of what's posted and shared is merely uninformed or naive. But during this election season, we've also seen claims and allegations that were malicious and knowingly false.

The problem isn't limited to government and politics. It impacts every business and industry; groups of people, and individuals.  

So called "big tech" struggles between protecting our right to free speech and the spread of information that is purposely designed to mislead and misinform.  

At least part of the answer rests with us as consumers. We need to check the sources of items we see that don't seem right. We also need to challenge those who post damaging and false information. 

It's amazing how quickly they disappear or resort to name calling, because they can't defend their positions. I can't tell you how many times I've been called a "moron" these last few weeks!

Lesson 3

After some early hand wringing about the polls being inaccurate, they ended up fairly close to the results in the race for President.

But there are issues.

First, the public too often focuses on the headlines and not the fine print, such as margins of error. Many reputable pollsters predicted that vote totals in certain states would be close. And they were.

Second, polls are not designed to discourage voters on one side or another. The old cliche that the only poll that counts is the one on Election Day is as true as ever. If someone stays home because of a poll, shame on him or her.

Third, it would seem that some people, who intended to vote for certain candidates, were telling researchers something different. This isn't a problem with sample size, question design, or participant selection. It is an issue with respondents not honestly answering the questions. 

There's a term emerging for these folks. They're being called "shy voters."  

The bottom line is that polling/market research is only as good as the honesty of the people who participate. 

Lesson 4

President Trump deserves credit for being the disrupter we all needed. His presence and policies have forced us to consider what we believe about science and medicine; the environment; economics; those who are different than us, and what our responsibilities are to each other as citizens.

We apparently have very different views on those topics. As historian Jon Meacham noted on the Today Show: "Democracies don't work without empathy."

Lesson 5

It took a pandemic to do it, but we may have found the answer to voter apathy. Making voting more convenient -- increased emphasis on absentee/mail in voting; opportunities to drop off ballots, as well as voting early -- resulted in record turnout.  

Going forward, the process will no doubt become smoother and more uniform. Hopefully more voters across the spectrum will participate. 

We may even get the final results faster. 

Here's what I know....

I've worked in the communications business for more than 45 years.

I began my career running the campus radio station at Boston University, where I gave Howard Stern his start by firing him from his weekly show. He was then hired at a small, daytime AM station outside of Boston, where it didn't take long for him to be noticed by programmers at much larger operations.

After graduating from BU, I worked in local radio news covering Board of Selectmen, City Council, and School Committee meetings. I also had a daily talk show and free lanced for a newspaper. Years later when community cable outlets became popular, I hosted programs on those channels.

Since I wasn't willing to make the sacrifices necessary to move to larger markets, I crossed the divide and started a career in corporate media. I worked with dozens of reporters locally and, as I climbed the ladder, across the US and Canada.

For many years, I was employed by utilities, where I was the on camera company face and interacted directly with print, radio, and TV reporters anytime a storm was brewing; a wind turbine fell over, or a controversy about a rate increase became news.

I've also been teaching communications on the college level for 25 years. So, it's been my responsibility to pay attention to what is happening in my profession.

As a result, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on legitimate news operations, their reporters, and how they operate.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I continue to be amazed by the fantasies, half truths, and just plain fallacies that I see people accept as gospel -- especially from so called internet or obviously biased "news" sites.

Two examples.

President Trump had a stroke. I'm admittedly not a fan of the man, but he trips up a set of stairs and moves awkwardly to catch his balance and that is somehow evidence he had a stroke. Or his hand shakes at a wreath laying ceremony. Or, he's drinking "too much" water, while giving a speech.  

Here's what I know from working within the business over the years. If the President actually had a stroke, (mini or otherwise) a reporter from a legitimate news operation would flush out the information.  Someone at the hospital would leak the medical report. Sources in the White House or Capitol Hill would provide details. And every media outlet would cover the story.

Or, Joe Biden has dementia. The former Vice President has a stuttering problem. Can he also appear to get lost sometimes when speaking? Yes. (Especially when the video is edited.)

But, here's what I know.  If, in fact, Biden has dementia, someone would have come forward by now either from his campaign, a friend, or maybe even his family. A reporter -- maybe one who has covered him for years -- would ferret it out. And every media outlet would cover it.

These are not "liberal" or "conservative" media stories. If Fox News received solid information that the President had a stroke, they would report it. If the New York Times had evidence that Joe Biden was suffering from dementia, they would run with it. 

Stories from websites that don't list Boards of Directors, editorial staffs, or sources need to be questioned. If they are listed, do some research. I've checked out sites from postings that friends have shared and discovered that they were based outside of the country and/or had editors, who previously worked for pro-Russian publications.

The web addresses may be different, but many of these so called news sites (on both sides of the fence) also look remarkably similar and have the same content.    

Any story from a parody website needs to be dismissed. I finally had to block someone, who insists that what is written on an obviously satirical site is true and that the information has been "covered up by the liberal media." 

It's our responsibility to be sure that our sources of information are trustworthy. Rachel Maddow or Tucker Carlson aren't the second coming of Walter Cronkite. No one has assumed the mantle of "Most Trusted Man (or Woman) in America."  

Those days are over. 

That's what I know.

The Old Guy

I never paid much attention to my age as the years have rumbled on.

Milestone birthdays were never a time to stop and reflect.  The younger ones -- 25, 35 and even 40 -- were fun. By the time I reached 50 and 55, my age was "just a number."

When I turned 60, we had celebrated Mariana's first birthday a few weeks earlier. So it made sense to be that age and a grandfather.

Sixty-five was a badge of honor.  I survived to a truly milestone moment - an opportunity that not everyone I've known has been lucky enough to achieve.

That was two years ago and lately it feels like I've moved into a different neighborhood.

Case in point. We were at a nearby town pond not too long ago and the lifeguard dropped his two-way radio. Being a good citizen, I picked it up and handed it back.

As I walked away, I heard him contact his counterpart a few yards away to report that an "old guy" had returned it.

An old guy?

Was he talkin' about me?

As I settled into my beach chair and relayed the story, Mari -- always quick to keep me grounded -- said: "Well, you are 67. That's kinda old."

(I should point out that some of us have yet to reach the big 6-0.)

I've noticed that lately people are calling me sir or Mr. Sennott more often than they used to. Or the dreaded "honey," as you pay for your groceries.

I cringe when people refer to senior citizens, especially when they're amazed at the ability to use technology.

Age is a funny thing. It changes us, but we often don't notice the differences in ourselves or those who we know or see on a regular basis.  Hair color may be different by design or default. We may gingerly walk down the stairs in the morning waiting for our knees to loosen up. The conga line of medications that keeps us healthy gets a little longer.

But to us, we're still more or less the same.

Though, I wonder what others see.

Like Mariana. Does she see the person I find in the mirror every day?

Or, does she just see an old guy?

Sure, I live on Cape Cod. But...

We've lived on Cape Cod for years. We moved here when our daughter was three. She's now 29. It's been a lifetime.

In the early years, we regularly went to the beach; spent time in the backyard pool that came with the house; enjoyed the sunsets, and did the best we could to live the life that people think Cape Codders have.

We entertained. Did we ever. The first couple of years it seemed that a weekend didn't go by when we didn't have visitors from somewhere off Cape.

We even told both our old friends and new Cape ones that if the weather got really hot to feel free to use our pool, even if we weren't home. I know our offer was sincere, but we really didn't think the invitation would ever be accepted.

Until one very hot July 3rd.

I worked off Cape and as I drove down our street I wondered, who was having the big party and why we weren't invited. But, when I couldn't park in my own driveway, I realized where the party was.

The pool was jammed. Our back deck was crammed. I was immediately sent on a beer and burger run.

In time, the novelty of our living on Cape Cod wore off for both our friends and us. The steady stream of visitors stopped. We settled into a more typical, daily routine. I kept working in Providence and points beyond. My wife got her real estate license.

Eventually we started taking vacations as far off Cape as we could. Too much traffic; too many tourists; too strong a temptation for Mari to stop by the office on days off.

Some years it was August before we went to the beach. If at all.  I began telling anyone who asked about life on Cape that our subdivision and weekly routine was really no different from anyone's anywhere else.

Until these last few months.

My classes moved on line. Mari's real estate office closed and she began working remotely. Our second grader granddaughter started having daily class zoom calls and on line assignments.

Fortunately, the weather wasn't great when the stay-safe-at-home order went into effect, so there was no real temptation to go out. Not that there was anywhere to go.

Snake Pond

But, as the weather improved, we began sitting on our deck again. We filled our bird feeders. We took long rides to get take out and sat in the car by a beach to eat it.

When restrictions eased, we found ourselves at a Town pond less than ten minutes from our house. It was a spot that we could have easily visited countless times over the years, but hardly ever did.

We re-discovered why we moved to Cape Cod all those years ago.

To suggest that going to the beach and watching backyard birds are COVID-19 silver linings would be more than a little shallow. But given the capriciousness of the virus, the message to slow down and appreciate where you are, what you have, and who you share it with is a lesson that too many of us needed.

When we finally settle in to the last of the new normals, let's not forget.

Is America's Pastime Past Its Time?

I've been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. I first became interested in the game when my grandfather would listen on the radio to the "Red Slobs," as he called them. The legendary Curt Gowdy did the play-by-play of the perennial cellar dwellers.

There was Chuck Schilling and Felix Mantilla. Dalton Jones and Frank Malzone.  Bill Monbouquette and "The Monster," Dick Raditz, a larger than life relief pitcher who deserved to be on a better team. And then there was "Doctor Strangeglove," Dick Stuart.  He hit a ton of homers and made about as many errors.

I collected baseball cards like every kid my age and to this day remember being hurt when for some reason Grampa Bernie -- who was always very attentive -- didn't have time to look at my collection.

My love for the game was cemented in 1967 when the Impossible Dream Red Sox won the American League pennant. Carl Yastrezemski -- "the man we call Yaz" --  won the Triple Crown that year. George "Tater" Scott, Rico Petrocelli, and Joe Foy were among the regulars. A young Tony Conigliaro hit 20 home runs. Former enemies like the Yankees' Elston Howard, the Tigers' Tony Horton, and the A's Ken Harrelson joined the team for the late season run to the top. 

I was truly hooked and have been a loyal fan ever since.

About 10 years ago, I even had a chance to vicariously live the baseball life when my daughter worked for two summers for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

So, like many, I'm more than a little disappointed that Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Players Association have yet to find common ground to begin the 2020 baseball season. The opportunity to command the sports stage and be a rallying point as we emerge from the virus crisis is slowly being frittered away.

We need to look back no further than the days after 9/11 to see how baseball can provide a much needed boost to the national psyche. Who can forget President Bush confidently striding to the mound at Yankee Stadium and throwing a ceremonial first pitch strike while wearing a flack jacket?

As fans, we are emotionally attached to the game and our teams. But, with players and management apparently entrenched in their positions and focused on money, we are reminded that baseball is just a business, and one that is not especially well run.

The good news for me, anyway, is that I have found a reasonable substitute for MLB.

The KBO, South Korea's national baseball league, airs six times a week on ESPN. The weekday games start at 5:30am our time. The level of competition is good with former major leaguers and homegrown stars -- who have or could have played in MLB -- scattered throughout rosters. There's no problem with the length of the games, either. They're usually over by 8:00am, before I've finished my second cup of coffee.

With no fans in the stands, teams have become creative. I tuned in last week to find Sponge Bob, Stitch, Winnie the Pooh, and Mickey Mouse among the spectators in the first few rows at an NC Dinos vs. Hanwa Eagles game.

KBO has become popular enough here in the States that they've added an English language version of their website to respond to demand for merchandise.

Even if MLB and the players reach an agreement tomorrow, baseball will struggle for fan attention. The current proposal sees the game returning sometime in July for a 76 game regular season. But, July is also the time the NBA and NHL will be back in business with playoff competition.

The NFL never really hit the pause button and has been dominating the sports headlines with free agency and the draft. Training camps should be opening in several weeks.

Fans will have options. Watch meaningful basketball and hockey games involving players and leagues that for the most part worked cooperatively to resume their seasons or teams and players who had to be dragged back into business kicking and complaining?

And we all know what happens when football season starts.

Baseball is often referred to as "America's favorite pastime."

If owners and players don't settle their differences soon, we could be talking about the game as past its time.

It Feels Like the '60s Again

I was born in the 1950's and did most of my growing up in the '60s.

It was a decade of milestone moments. The Impossible Dream Red Sox won the '67 pennant forever cementing my love of baseball. I saw Jimi Hendrix at the first concert I attended, and hung out in Harvard Square buying records at the Coop, while gawking at the hippies. I got my driver's license; bought my first car, and made plans to attend Boston University, where I would launched Howard Stern's career.

It was a great time to be young. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and technology was amazing us at every turn. By the end of the decade, television had replaced radio as America's dominant media.

There was a lot of excitement and hope for the future.

But it was also a very troubled era.

I remember where I was when President Kennedy was assassinated. (In church with my Catholic grammar school class participating in something called 48 Hours.)

Within the span of just a few months in 1968 my grandfather passed away and Martin Luther King was killed. Bobby Kennedy, too. The Vietnam War was spiraling out of control. Students peacefully protesting at Kent State were shot. African Americans looking to be treated as equals were attacked and lost their lives. People took the streets to protest.

Voters, who were concerned about what they saw as the lack of respect for the law, as well as societal changes that didn't quite fit their morals and beliefs, coalesced into something labeled the Silent Majority.  They elected a President, who promised to restore order and traditional norms.

The 1960's was a "decade of extremes," according to Kenneth Walsh writing in US News and World Report. "A decade of promise and heartbreak."

I'm sure I'm not the only one of my generation, who has been thinking about the '60s, while witnessing recent events.

The struggle for racial equality was never won and now racism has reared its ugly head with a surprising ferocity. African Americans and other minorities legitimately fear for their lives, especially if they're in an area where someone might think they "shouldn't be."  The list of senseless deaths is growing longer.

While many of us may not understand the logic or purpose, cities are burning again, as they did in the '60s.

The divide between and among generations in terms of personal beliefs sometimes seems as wide as it was during the days of Flower Power and free love, if not wider.

Current technology, which would amaze the astronauts of the '60s, has been both a blessing and a curse.

Countless lives have been saved by advances in medicine and emergency medical care. With today's technology, my grandfather would have easily survived that heart attack in 1968.

Computers and cell phones have improved our business and personal lives. Many of us have been able to work at home during the pandemic, because of high speed internet and technologies like Zoom and FaceTime.

We have direct access to books and music, making those weekly trips I took to Harvard Square no more than a back-in-the-day story. I saw Jimi Hendrix (with opening act Soft Machine) at the Carousel Theatre in Framingham when I was 15. My eight year old granddaughter recently attended her first concert via YouTube.

But technology, which we thought would be a unifier, has done the exact opposite. It has spread misinformation and given a loud and visible platform to those with extreme views. Too many have become intolerant of people with different ideas and are reluctant to learn when presented with information that disagrees with their version of the truth.

We've been through challenging times before.  A new book, Lincoln on the Verge, chronicles the issues our 16th President faced as he prepared to take office. The disparities between the North and South that contributed to the start of the Civil War are strikingly similar to the philosophical, economic, and technological differences between various part of the country today.

Lincoln quickly learned that he had been elected because of the telegraph. It took a few days for word to reach Jefferson Davis that he was the new President of the Confederacy, because of the lack of telegraph services in the more rural south.  This is not unlike the disparity in access to high speed internet -- or internet service at all --  in various parts of the country today.

But the biggest difference between now and then?

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln traveled by high speed train from Springfield to the U.S. Capitol.

We can only hope that the next Abraham Lincoln is somehow winging his/her way to Washington now.

They say it's your birthday

If you told a much younger me that I would celebrate another year of senior citizenship pretty much confined to my home as the country and the world battled a pandemic, I would have questioned the timeline of your crystal ball.

Those kinds of things happened in other centuries. But the 21st? Nah....

But, here I am.  I'm turning 67 and part of an age group that they say has the most to fear from Covid-19.

I've convinced myself that I don't look 67. People who haven't seen me in a while always say that I "never change."

I also don't think I act 67. I seem to have a good rapport with my college age students and the somewhat younger people I work with at our real estate office. Though to be honest, Mari has told me for years that I was "old before my time."

I guess I never really paid much attention to my age as the days and then years piled up. Too busy with family, work, teaching, and politics to notice.

But now I'm struck by the randomness of life -- and how lucky I am -- as Covid's toll has risen. Spring-breakers; middle-agers; the "elderly;" first responders, health care workers, and grocery store employees - no one seems to be exempt from its wrath.

I know everything is part of the Eternal Plan. But this is a real puzzler. I suppose we'll get the answer when...well, you know...

We're fortunate. Cape Cod is not heavily populated this time of year and it's relatively easy to maintain social distancing when leaving the house for groceries or take out. We know some out of the way beaches where we can get a breath of clean, fresh ocean air without running into crowds. My two places of employment have shifted to virtual operations so technology allows me to function, as if I were in the office or on campus.

On the positive side, the current situation has forced me to learn about technologies like Zoom and similar products that I wasn't all that familiar with. I'm also trying to get better at editing videos, as virtual open houses and showings will no doubt be popular, even when we're finally cleared to resume usual activities.

I'm notorious for never quite finishing a book. While I still have a few in limbo, over the last few weeks I've been reaching the end of the last chapter more than usual.

I've even sat still long enough the watch a few movies. I've seen Trolls World Tour twice...

...and I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've even watched a Hallmark move.

As the virus rampages on, I take comfort in the fact that I've been blessed with good health and pretty good genes. My Mom lived to be nearly 91. Her mother was 80. My Dad was 78. The folks who handle our "investments," say that the actuarial tables predict that I should make it to my 90s. I can only hope and pray that, if I do, I'll know where I am; who I am, and be in control of the majority of my important bodily functions.

I know this. As I get older, I have to resist the temptation to be too concerned about when the first shoe and then the proverbial other shoe will drop. And I definitely have to stay away from WebMD. Now more than ever.

I have a lot to live for. Mari and I have much more to accomplish professionally and personally. Our granddaughter just turned 8 and I'm not going to miss seeing her grow up.

So, it's onward through a year that so far we'd like to forget. I'm actually looking forward to turning 68.

It means I survived being 67.