Oh, oh, oh, I think it's gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin' sun is shinin' like a red rubber ballPaul Simon and Bruce Woodley, "Red Rubber Ball," 1966
Disappointed people are checking in with each other.
I'm not hearing anger. It is different from 2016, when people instantly dedicated themselves to resistance. I don't hear defiance. Democrats are accepting democracy's verdict. Democrats spent four years condemning sore-loser election denial. That is for Republicans. Not us.
Kamala Harris's concession speech was consistent with the comments coming my way. Disappointment. Acceptance. Self-care to prepare for a long and honorable struggle.
Penny Flenniken is my older sister. She and her husband John live in Portland, Oregon. There are plenty of issues to hash out in Oregon, but not at the presidential level. The Trump campaign did not even bother to pay for a campaign ad in the Oregon voters pamphlet, the absolute minimum token effort for a campaign. No use wasting money on a sure thing for Harris. Like many blue state boomer liberals, my sister joined the organized effort to turn out Democratic votes in battleground states. She wrote postcards to send to Pennsylvania voters urging them to turn out and vote for Harris. The national red-shift was lower in Pennsylvania and other battleground states than it was in uncontested states because fewer Democrats stayed home there. They tried. It may have helped, but it wasn't enough.
Guest Post by Penny Flenniken
Sure, we’re a retired couple, but we still had a schedule. Up at whatever time, get coffee, turn on Morning Joe, and relax in the knowledge that the brainiest amongst us saw Trump and his obnoxious antics as a joke, not worthy of being taken seriously. He danced when he should have been speaking, was crude, mean, stupid, old, and behaved like a fascist. Our gal Kamala was in every way better. She was saying and making statements most sane Americans would agree with. A close election. How could it be?
In the afternoons, I find things to do in the garden, and we read newspapers—lots of them—but online so we can reduce our carbon impact. I read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk. I didn’t like him, but so what? Understanding was the point.
In the evenings, after dinner, we would turn on PBS News Hour. We saw the effects of climate change, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the importance of NATO to the democratic order. We were what some might call well-informed citizens watching the world from the comfort of our couch.
Early in the evening of election night, I stopped watching voting results. I wanted something to be breaking the way I wanted it. I texted my brother Peter: “Just watched a film about Martha Stewart. That will be my life, too, now. I’ll make everything around me a little prettier. I’ll read books, lunch with friends, exercise a bit, and forget trying to make sense of the American people. It’s too much work, and it’s been unproductive.”
We didn’t watch Morning Joe or the News Hour Wednesday morning after the election. I’m no artist, but I painted a picture I liked and hung it up. Later on Wednesday, I had lunch with friends I have been meeting with once a week for years. We read a poem and talked about self-care. Then, with autumn leaves still clinging to the trees, we took a walk to feed ducks that seemed unaware of the disaster unleashed by an overwhelming Trump victory.
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6 comments:
Yes. Life moves on. A Canadian golf friend and wife have decided they won’t move to Canada as they thought they might if Trump won. It’s too much work and it’s too cold up there. I didn’t watch the news beyond a 3 minute glimpse, it just felt too much. As traveling has become problematic for us, we are getting a small puppy tomorrow. Our daughter will care for her if the puppy outlives us. So the change in our lives will be a new family addition and the country will be what it wants to become.
What would we do to ‘resist’ – launch an armed assault on the Capitol? Forget it. We’re not Republicans. The best form of resistance is exactly what Ms. Flenniken is doing. We need to combat evil by doing good for ourselves, our community and our planet. Fight the hatemongering with kindness, and don’t grant a deranged madman the power to bring us down. This too shall pass.
We will miss the stability provided by the Biden administration.
Nice. Best advice a boss ever gave me was to "always assume good will." I will do that. I will not change my believe that most people are good; that there are enough good people in the world. I did not watch any news. Instead, I cleaned the kitchen and listened to Van Morrison's "And the Healing Has Begun." I will do my part and help address the very real issues that are behind this election's clear message.
Good, healthy advice. As for "forget trying to make sense of the American people. It’s too much work, and it’s been unproductive," reading books by Colin Woodard might help. He describes the historical development of regional cultures in our country, and why people in, say, Kentucky may not think the way we do.
I feel exactly like Penny. I haven’t watched the news since Tuesday, I’m reading books, taking walks and watching sports. My husband and I watched “Moneyball” last night in lieu of the news. Feeling some relief that the hourly texts asking for money (even though I was already donating weekly) have been coming only once or twice a day. Looking forward to the Gokden State Warriors game tonight and the start of college basketball season. When the time is right to turn my attention back to politics, I’ll know it.
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