OK. I voted for the Republican ticket. On election day I explained why I voted for Mr Trump and why I held my nose.

But now, as we see the aftermath of this election playing out I am aghast at what is being revealed. How can the world’s great superpower get things so messed up?

First of all, I’m perfectly willing to admit that there may have been widespread fraud in an attempt to unseat Trump. It’s obvious from day one of his presidency that the establishment powers were determined to get rid of him. When you realize how angry and frustrated the establishment people of power must have been at his 2016 election, and then see how the worked to undermine him, ignore any accomplishments of his administration and do virtually everything to get rid of him, we have to conclude that they would have been just as determined to ensure that he was not re-elected.

That they did this by changing the election rules, allowing mail in voting and used the COVID pandemic as an excuse to do would not be surprising. The fact that the big Democratic cities were the center of these shenanigans also seems a bit suspicious.

Be that as it may, I don’t suspect things were much different than they always were. I guess both Republicans and Democrats over the years have massaged the rules, changed the regulations and done deals to sway elections. That’s politics and, given human nature, I reckon tinkering with the elections is part of the game.

I do find it a stretch to believe that Joe Biden got more votes than any recent presidential candidate when he scarcely campaigned and the enthusiasm for his candidacy even from his own party was tepid to say the least. However, it’s also true that there was a pretty big anti-Trump sentiment in the country.

But what amazes me is how the great American system has turned out to be not only corrupt in places, but seemingly, incredibly incompetent, disorganized and chaotic. How can a major city (Milwaukee) have only five polling places set up? How is it that the huge state of Texas was able to manage an election which came clear on election night, but Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia etc. cannot? How can there be so many loopholes? Absentee ballots missing, mail in ballots lost, ballots on memory sticks, election monitors excluded, voting machines on the blink?

The rest of the world must be watching and thinking our great nation is more shambolic and inept than some tin pot third world country!

I hope and pray this will soon be settled. If Mr Biden is the next president I won’t like it, but we’ve had Democratic administrations before and the sky didn’t fall.

Our job…as I repeat over and over, is to be at peace within ourselves, be alert and vigilant because (whoever is in the White House) the devil is stalking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Watch and pray and roll up our sleeves and live and love the gospel, sharing it in our words and works as we are given the grace, and do what we can with what we have where we are.

As for me and my house, I’m excited that our parish school is moving surely and steadily to being a classical school from K5 – 12. More and more families are catching on to what is happening and our parish is growing. In Advent I’m teaching a four week course on the way of St Benedict–sharing with our people the vision of a parish which is carrying out what Rod Dreher calls “The Benedict Option”.

Amidst all the fuss and worry that’s what we can do, and we plan to do it positively and pro actively.

Why not join me for the next six week online, real time course? Characters of Christmas is a deep dive into my 2017 book The Mystery of the Magi. We’ll be discovering the true identity of the wise men and much much more. Learn more here.