Mental Health Checkup #3 - The Election of Our Discontent

Welcome, everyone, to another episode of the Mental Health Checkup! As we all know, last week was a hugely stressful time for a lot of people in America, as well as the world. So a group of us decided to vent and rant about their trials and tribulations with regard to the presidential election in the USA. (This was recorded last week, in fact, so none of us knew the official outcome at the time.) Join Mike and Jacob along with special guests Calu and Evan DeGraff, as they discuss their feelings and try to work out their angst during this unprecedented time in the world.

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Disclaimer: Please note that this episode is a bit different for us here at RPC, as we do talk about politics and current events in a way that we usually do not. None of us are experts in political science, but we do have our individual opinions, and since this is our Mental Health show, we relaxed the boundaries a little bit. No matter who you voted for, rest assured that you have a place here with our community, and that we hope for a divided nation to come together in the years to come.

Personally (and this is Keona speaking), I’m just glad that election week is over and done, and am happy with the result. Or, at least, I would be, if we were alive in sane times where people actually had a little public decency and decorum. Excuse me for ranting a bit, but the month of October was a very stressful time for me, and November is proving difficult as well. You’ll probably notice that my output on this glorious website has lessened, and that’s all due to the fact that I’ve been having a rough time dealing with the stress of isolating during a global pandemic, hearing about the election and the constant news cycle surrounding it, and the incompetence of everyone who controls the fate of this country. When it comes to politics, I’m a deeply cynical man, and I’m not sure that anyone truly has the will of the people or our interests and well-being at heart.

That being said, we’ve had four years of “alternative facts" and blatant lies thrown in our faces, and we’ve seen some of the most divisive rhetoric (for lack of a more accurate time) in our lifetimes delivered through the…person…we have occupying the Oval Office at this time. I know this is our most controversial post, but I think we do have a perspective at this website, and I know that our current president has never reflected my personal values, so I’m going to come out and say it. The election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the highest offices of the United States is a good thing. Feel free to disagree, but just think of the damage that has been done to this country in the past four years, not only in terms of its reputation across the globe-which Calu presents during our podcast since he is from France-but also in terms of the institutions that have been torn down, and the division and disenchantment that so many people have felt since 2016.

I know that some of you may never visit this website again because you’re angry that we even broached this subject. I know that none of us are experts in politics. And I’m well aware that no one visits a pop culture site to get preached at. However, given what’s at stake, and the fact that this is our Mental Health show, and nothing has had as much of an effect on our emotional and intellectual well-being as this current election cycle has, I feel that it’s appropriate to speak out, just this once.

Now that we’ve done so, we can move on, both as a community of pop culture fans, and as a nation. Don’t get me wrong, there are still issues to deal with and a hard road ahead for the US and the world, but at least there’s a sliver of hope.

Well, that was a difficult post to write. We hope you’ll stick with us and that you enjoy the podcast and continue to support us. Thank God the election is over, and that things have worked out for the better. Regardless of everything, we love you all, and we hope that healing and reconciliation can begin for our nation, and the whole world! Thanks to our special guest hosts: Evan DeGraff, who is awesome and continuing to do good work; and Calu, who is a very interesting guy and we hope to have him on the show again in the near future! Please visit his Facebook group and patronize his CBD business here!

One final note: This weekend is the 24-hour Smash-a-thon charity livestream to benefit Kevin Smets, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer two weeks before the birth of his daughter. He’s also a friend of our Captain, Mike, and a legendary contestant on the Movie Trivia Schmoedown! Please check out the livestream at this Youtube channel, and please consider donating to the GoFundMe page to help Kevin out! Thanks, Renegades!