Maybe because I grew up in Atlantic City, I don’t get angry or upset about other people’s actions. Poker is a metaphor for life: instead of being angry or upset, you have to play the hand you’re dealt.
Washington, D.C. is sort of like Atlantic City. It’s a place where dreams go to die. You run into a lot of failed ambitious types. As with losing gamblers they blame the casino, dealers, other players — but they never look inward. Beltway politics is the same. People blame racism, sexism and homophobia.
I have no time for victimhood or pity parties. Failures succumb to the actions of others while champions don’t care what others do. Nobody can make me unhappy. I was homeless and incarcerated! Do you think I care what miserable, unhappy people say? I feel sad about their circumstances but I’m not the cause of it. You get bent out of shape because you’re inconvenienced at Starbucks while there are people sleeping outside.
When losing gamblers complain about their luck, I tell them, you have options, such as don’t play. It’s the same with people who complain about Donald Trump. If you’re unhappy, why be miserable? If you think America is racist go to Mexico or Canada! I don’t get it. I love America, I love my gun, God and the American flag. I’m not apologizing for being a straight heterosexual male.
Washingtonians aren’t bad people, just very lousy poker players. Today’s Democratic Party is stuck in the sixties and needs to be overhauled for the 21st century. They need to abandon identity politics and move towards class-based liberalism that is centered on remaking America’s crumbling infrastructure, failing schools and helping those left behind in a global economy.
Brexit, Trump and all these populist nationalist groups in Europe and Great Britain came about because Left/Right politics have failed the masses. Today’s social policies are ideas that came out of the Great Depression and sixties. We need new ideas, such as public/private partnerships, that can help poor people. These policies should more localized and accountable to the community. Liberals need to leave Washington, D.C. and start visiting areas that haven’t voted for them. What plays well in Dupont Circle and San Francisco doesn’t play well in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Learn how to play the game.
