Clean Your Room, North Carolina: GOP Candidate Finally Concedes, Chaos Averted (For Now)

The Leviathan Stirred and Then...Subsided?

Well alright then. The Republican candidate in North Carolina has finally shall we say 'cleaned his room.' After six months of let's call it 'spirited debate,' he's conceded. And that's a good thing. Because chaos as I've mentioned before is not your friend. It's a hungry beast that will devour everything in its path starting with your socks and ending with oh I don't know maybe the entire legal system. So a little bit of order is a welcome thing in a world that seems to be edging ever closer to the abyss.

The Rules of the Game: Thou Shalt Not Move the Goalposts

The judge appointed by yes Donald Trump put it succinctly: 'You establish the rules before the game. You don't change them after the game is done.' Now that's something we can all understand isn't it? It's like telling someone halfway through a chess match that pawns can now fly. Utterly absurd! We need to agree on the structure of reality or we're going to descend into madness pure and simple. And trust me you don't want to go there. There be dragons in the land of arbitrary rules my friends.

The Democratic Chorus: A 'Righteous Victory' or a Pyrrhic One?

The Democratic National Committee predictably is crowing about a 'righteous victory.' Righteous eh? Well I'll tell you what's righteous: a society where everyone feels they've been heard where the rules are clear and where people are willing to accept the outcome even if it stings a bit. This constant bickering this endless cycle of accusation and counter accusation it's exhausting! It's like trying to herd cats...while blindfolded...and juggling flaming torches. And might I add not particularly productive.

Justice Riggs: A Lone Wolf in a GOP Den?

So Justice Riggs a Democrat will serve an eight year term on a GOP majority court. That's gotta be a bit like walking into a lion's den with nothing but a copy of *Maps of Meaning*. Hopefully she's got her arguments well structured and her facts in order. Because she's going to need them. And let's hope she doesn't start believing her own press clippings. Humility my friends is a virtue especially when you're surrounded by people who disagree with you.

The Price of Principle: $100,000 for Lawyers?

And here's the kicker: Riggs' campaign had to spend nearly $100,000 on lawyers to fight these challenges. One hundred thousand dollars! That's enough to buy a very nice suit or you know maybe fund a study on the psychological effects of staring into the abyss for too long. All that money just to defend a victory that was already affirmed by two recounts. It makes you wonder doesn't it? Are we spending our resources wisely? Are we focusing on what truly matters or are we just endlessly battling over scraps?

So What Does It All Mean? (Besides More Chaos to Come)

Ultimately this North Carolina saga is a microcosm of the larger culture war. It's about trust it's about rules and it's about our ability to engage in civil discourse. And frankly we're not doing a very good job. We need to start listening to each other to start acknowledging the validity of opposing viewpoints. Otherwise we're doomed to repeat this pattern over and over again. So clean your room folks. And maybe just maybe we can start to build a more orderly and meaningful world.