Stocks will plunge if Donald Trump is elected President. And the bond market could capsize if Trump goes ahead with plans to renegotiate the national debt. Yeah, but if Hillary Clinton wins the White House, she’ll cripple the economy by hiking taxes by $1 trillion. And oh, by the way, her foreign policy will end up destroying the world. As these are actual statements made by famous investors—like billionaire Mark Cuban and Swiss investment adviser Marc Faber.
Music artists are not immune to these speculations of fear and doom, artists are sharply divided on the upcoming elections and there is no doubt about their influence on their fans.
It’s understandable if you’re worried that the outcome of the election could upend our lives. But while the inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue can alter the lives of billions of people, history says presidential politics have a surprisingly small impact on the entertainment business, somehow the entertainment world seems to have a life of its own and its own politics.
There’s no empirical evidence to suggest that who the President is, whether Republican or Democrat, should cause you to want to deviate from your goals, at least here in America. After the drama is over on Nov. 8, about half the country will be elated, and nearly half will be upset.
At the risk of sounding simplistic, I think the key is keeping first things first. Regardless of our political views, we all face the same dilemma – life in a “fallen world” and we all play a part in helping to effect some change regardless of how insignificant it feels at times. I’m sure you have heard the story about the old man and the starfish.
A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore. Further along he sees an old man, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean.
“Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?,” he asks.
“Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them further in they will die.”
“But, old man, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can’t possibly save them all, you can’t even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won’t make any difference at all.”
The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. “It made a difference to that one.”