I’m sure that by now, many of you share my sadness and disappointment about the results of the election. And that you’ve already listened to or read enough post-mortem commentaries from the punditocracy. So I won’t write at length here, but do feel the need at least to contribute something to the ongoing conversation.
First, if any of you reading this supported Trump, this is not for you. You probably won’t want to read what follows. But I suspect that most of you who read my blogs will know my own sympathies and share them. So this is for you.
Musing on the dire election returns, I don’t recognize this country anymore. Given Trump’s decisive victory, I feel that I am living in a land now dominated by yahoos, fools, crazies, and hooligans who relish and thrill to Trump’s brand of bile and vitriol. But why waste time and words on mere name-calling? It serves no purpose and is not constructive.
I thought that Kamala would win. I think if there had been no early voting, she might have succeeded, since her support seemed to be surging toward the end, but we’ll never know. And consider: She not only had to defeat Trump, but she was also the victim of misogyny, racism and being the VP of a very unpopular President — a lot to overcome. And, obviously, in hindsight, too much. Moreover, she had only little more than a hundred days to introduce herself to an American electorate to whom she was not well known. Had she been able to secure the nomination much earlier, she might have prevailed, but, again, that issue is moot now. What we know is that all the support she received from women, from youthful voters, and from all the celebrities who rallied to her cause was not enough. To me, Kamala was an inspiring speaker and leader, but, still, she was not enough either.
I personally don’t have faith that the Democratic party itself is enough to turn the tide. Besides, the tide has already come in and swamped those of us who supported Kamala’s candidacy. What to do now?
To my friends, I have joked that since we are not France, a coup d’état is not likely. Any kind of insurrection would be bloody and ultimately unsuccessful. So, I have a third option that I think is our only realistic solution and hope: Secession. California, or preferably, the entire west coast, should secede from the union. That, it seems to me, is the only way forward to spare ourselves from the autocratic and corrupt reign of Trump II.
If only -- but of course I don’t really have any hope for that outcome, much as I personally would prefer it.
To me, what we must depend on is not politics as usual. Our politicians have failed us. We must put our trust in and bank our hopes on the public and its power to resist, to fight against the authoritarian cruelty and viciousness we can expect from Trump and his cadre of epigones.
Robert Reich has advocated the same course, and because he is a respected public figure, I urge you to read and heed his wise words. You can find them by going to this link:
Thank you for reading this.
[I wrote the following on Facebook last night before the results were in. I'd like to share it with you, Ken, and your readers.]
ReplyDeleteWe don't yet know whether Kamala Harris might win, but this is feeling like a nightmare. My only consolation is that I am a soul who finds Donald Trump repugnant and I don't hesitate to say so. I hope I will continue to have the courage to say so when it needs to be said.
I find a man who treats women with such disrespect and cruelty as gross and abhorrent. I find a man who lies as freely as he breathes dishonorable and I'm grateful to the Great Spirit that I am not among the throngs of people who tonight voted a strong YES to this repugnant man. I hope that the same Great Spirit empowers me to continue to love truth and hate lies, to love compassion and gratitude and mercy and reject hatred and violence and retribution.
Donald Trump promised to be our "retribution." Well, he's not my retribution. I reject his offer. He will never be my president either. He wasn't the first four years this country elected him and should he be reelected, he will not be my president this time either. I will say to my "born-again Christian" friend, Kent Lawson. "Congratulations! You got your man in office. Now, he can put men, women, and children into cages in your name and on your behalf. He can rob the poor and give to the rich in your name and on your behalf. He can destroy the lives of our favorite comedians who have spoken out boldly and courageously against him in your name by ordering the "justice" department to go after them in search of anything to press charges, fine them, imprison them, perhaps even kill them in your name."
I say to all my "born-again Christian" friends that may have put this violent, perverse, evil man back into power. "You are getting exactly what you deserve, what you demanded, and what you chose. You saw everything one could never imagine a public official could be guilty of and you still chose him in your arrogance, your rage, your self-pity, and your lack of happiness sitting like kings and queens, feasting as never been experienced in the history of the world and still griping and complaining and bitching about inflation and the high cost of all your imported goods from all over the planet."
If this country chooses to return this man to power, then we deserve him and we will suffer miserably because of him. This is not the fault of The Great Spirit. If this happens, it is the fault of the emptiness of the human spirit and the rejection of its Source. While claiming to worship God, they have worshiped their checkbook, their lavish homes, their two cars, their trips to Alaska and Puerta Vallarta and all over the planet.
We are eternal beings. We have always existed. We will always exist. Our choice is this moment is the same choice we have always had and will forever have, am I going to choose love and faith and peace and calmness and trust and compassion and forgiveness and mercy and tenderness and joy or am I going to choose fear and the hatred and rage that comes with it? The choice is ours. Whoever is elevated to the place of president is nothing, neither adding nor taking away from our well-being.
Despite your ailments, these are the times I wish I was almost 89 years old and had relatively little time left on this earth. I too am disappointed in our fellow humans in the USA that our better angels didn't prevail. We'll need to love that much more universally and unconditionally to counteract the sanctioned hate and discrimination that is on the horizon. Peace to you, our country, and our world. We'll NEED it!
ReplyDeleteTrump will never help people with disabilities. With the few years I have left of my life on Earth, I dedicate my time to help the 15 million polio survivors worldwide who suffer from daily pain, fatigue, isolation, and derision that others cannot see but paralyzes their lives.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, when news first abounded that Trump won, I was giving a Rotary Disability Advocacy talk to help polio survivors in Columbia, Nigeria, Uganda, and the United States. With meager support to subsidize us healthcare professionals to reach out to polio survivors through Streamyard and Zoom networks, polio survivors (over 300,000 in the United States) will suffer every day because no one cares enough to educate and advise people who contracted polio before the polio vaccine was developed.
The crazy thing now is that Trump and his merry band will again make conditions ripe for polio to return. Trump’s health czar’s lack of comprehension of how the polio virus works will change the lives of people in America. All those who voted for Trump can look forward to children and grandchildren exposed to potentially paralyzing, deadly polio and other diseases.
Those who have been silent: Please speak out. Those who have done nothing: Please join us in helping polio survivors.
If you choose to ignore what is right before your eyes: Put your blinders on. You will need them to catch your tears when you see what you have done.
Susan L. Schoenbeck, MSN, RN
For information on how you can help: Susanschoenbeck11@gmail.com
Since the outcome of this election has become clear I have been praying that Trump's "darker" comments are just rhetoric, and not actual intentions. His supporters imply that this is correct, and while I have my doubts, I pray they are correct. My second tier of hope is that Congress or the courts will prevent Trump from going too far. However, with a GOP Senate, and what looks increasingly like a GOP House (hopefully I am wrong here), finding enough Republicans with the backbone to resist Trump might be a problem. That would leave it to the common person to resist, for our consciences to drive us to refuse orders that harm others and instead help, that our military will remember that their oath is to the defend the Constitution, not blindly follow the President, and that sufficient people vote to counter the worst in politics in every coming election.
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