We’ve just had a crushing blow to our belief in American goodness. Like many of you, I am frantic not for myself–I’m 83, and my likely duration in the Dark Ages won’t be long. But I have children and grandchildren, who are suddenly faced with a world far more precarious than the one we all thought we occupied.
I’m fortunate that one of my sons lives in Amsterdam, and one of my granddaughters lives in England. While the wave of fascism that is sweeping the globe will undoubtedly affect them to some extent, and the global consequences of electing an ignorant lunatic as U.S. President will be significant, their prospects aren’t as bleak as they would be here over the next years.
Or as daunting as the landscape that faces the rest of the family.
My youngest son–parent of the younger two grandkids–has taken what I believe to be the only rational position available to those of us who still occupy a sane and humane America. With his permission, I’m sharing the message he sent to his son and daughter, both of whom are currently in college, and both of whom were blindsided by the (previously) unthinkable results of the election.
Kids, I’m still struggling to process the election results and to contextualize it in a way that is not entirely negative. I keep coming back to a handful of facts and themes. First, WE (our family) are likely to be OK. While we are psychologically traumatized by the implications of the election — and the thoughts of how bad Trump might be for vulnerable people, minority communities, and non-citizens — our daily lives are unlikely to be directly or irreparably affected by Trump’s election. In saying this, I am not discounting the genuine risk to women — particularly young women of childbearing age — but WE are fortunate enough to have resources and options that likely mute those direct threats.
Second, and really based on the first point, WE now also have a greater obligation to help those who aren’t as fortunate as we are. I don’t know how or in what ways those opportunities will present themselves, but we have an obligation to help those who are going to be attacked or adversely impacted by Trump and Trumpism in the years to come.
Finally, as horrible as many people have shown themselves to be, know that OUR community is still OUR community, and made up of all the same loving, caring, funny, positive-values-holding people. I am trying to focus on these facts in the days, weeks, and years ahead… OUR community will help us weather the dark storms ahead, and we must do our part to help our family and friends weather it as well.
I love you! We will be OK, even if we are currently suffering deep psychological wounds from this election and its implications.
I can’t add to that.
I think that message sums up both the challenge we face and the obligations we must now assume. The challenge is a concerted effort by a cohort of people who believe Hitler “had some good ideas” to remake the United States into a 21st-Century fascist state. There are far more people in that cohort than most of us recognized or still want to believe.
Our obligation is twofold: first, to resist that transformation with every fiber of our beings, with every tool we can muster, with every grassroots organization we can create or support; and second, for those of us who are privileged, who are fortunate that our circumstances (or religions or skin colors) buffer us from the full effect of authoritarian animus, to work wherever and whenever we can to ameliorate the adverse impacts on those less fortunate.
Speaking of community: I’ve been doing this blog for several years, and have been gratified by the genuine sense of community that has grown up among the regular commenters, few of whom know each other personally. With the exception of a couple of trolls who weigh in now and then, you disagree with civility, share your knowledge freely and offer each other–and me– much needed moral support. You are one of the communities my son referenced in his text to my grandchildren.
Like many of you, I am still in shock. But when we emerge, we need to figure out how to save our world–how to gift our children and grandchildren with an America that is recognizable and future worth inhabiting.
Thank you.
Professor-thank your son and thank you for sharing your son’s wisdom
My youngest son, Scott, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer almost three weeks ago; in his weakened condition and in pain from numerous biopsies to learn the extent of his cancer; he and his wife Anne stood in line on Tuesday to vote for Kamala and Tim and the Democratic candidates down ballot. I know of others who just didn’t vote because they didn’t agree with who our candidates were. They will blame the outcome on Trump supporters and never realize that their NOT voting against him is how he got elected to the Presidency. Meanwhile; we all wait for whatever is ahead for America and Americans on both sides of the political situation in this country.
I’m wondering if my son can possibly survive his cancer and Donald Trump and the MAGAs.
I worked the polls Tuesday. One woman in a wheelchair came to vote. She was 104 years old, and was born on the day that women were “granted” the right to vote. Her granddaughter told me that she was hoping to see a woman become President. Bless her heart.
Thank you, thank your son.
We are entering a difficult time.
Perhaps it will take the experience of this deluge of ugliness(I refer specifically to the horrible people in our highest State offices and in the US Senate/ House) for all of us to get back on track toward a better Nation that realizes its promise to all.
I don’t know.
Right now Indiana, with the vote, has chosen ugly and scary.
I thought the boil had been lanced four years ago, but now I realize that the core was not rooted out completely and that after four years of festering it has re-emerged more stubborn than before. All we can do is hope that the next four years will be the wake-up call America needs to find its way again.
Most baffling: folks who vote against their own interests. And:
It’s becoming much more clear that Trump’s constant demeaning of the voting process, led to a near-record lower turnout everywhere. He shrank the voter base to a number over which he could prevail.
Classic political addition-by-subtraction.
We will figure this out. Slowly. Painfully.
Hopefully with grace and patience.
The first Republican report card is four years away. By then, the world will be unrecognizable because change is relentless. I hope to be here to see how they did.
Bless you. Thank you. Love to you and yours.
The next few years are a very worthy engagement in hope, persistence, not giving in, and love thy neighbor. As Harris said, Roll up our sleeves.
Europe has many fascistic leaders, and so does the Middle East. England, Germany, France, and Italy don’t have the brightest bulbs in the box. And what about Canada right now?
This has been a global trend for quite some time now. Young people stood up against genocide and were physically told to shut up and sit down and not to do it again. The Democratic Party and its donors did that. The universities obliged because that’s what their donors wanted.
Biden is fighting a proxy war with Russia and is threatening China. #GenocideJoe, anyone?
Those who drink the red and blue Kool-Aid from their TVs don’t see what’s happening and what happened to the Democratic Party. I wouldn’t waste a penny of your money on any organization supporting the DNC until they announce major changes and back that with real action.
If Trump pulls us out of Ukraine and stops our military expansion in the South China Sea, how odd is that? Since when are the Republicans less war-hungry than the Democratic Party?
The press hyped Kamala, bringing excitement to progressives – young and old – but it didn’t equate to voting action. They wanted eyeballs and would say whatever they needed. From the newsletters I’ve seen from major news outlets, they are already kissing the king’s ring.
We are amid a major class conflict, but neither the press nor citizens want to acknowledge it. After four years of Trump/Musk/Koch and their media outlets, we shall see if the public becomes enlightened. I seriously have my doubts.
Shiela … both your son and you speak for me. Thank you.
To some of Todd’s and others’ points, I listened to one Democrat Party worker who told stories of door knockers who went to thousands of homes and residences to solicit vote. What those knockers discovered it that the vast majority of the people they encountered had NO IDEA OR CLUE about what was at stake in this election. They made erroneous answers to the most basic of questions concerning the candidates and their positions on topics on which they were running for office. And since local elections usually get less air time than national, many had no idea who their local reps were at ANY level.
Maybe that helps explain a variety of things, but mostly why 40 million more people stayed home than in 2020.
Well done, citizens. Did our founders and war heroes die for nothing? Did they die so you could remain ignorant? Maybe we DO deserve what we just got.
I’m 83 too and glad I’m this old. My heart is broken by the various factors causing our society to be so weak that they would elect a convicted felon and rapist to be President. We just got a D- in civics. Let’s hope WW III doesn’t happen in the next 4 years.
Have you noticed that the gasoline prices are dropping? Nothing’s changed except the election.
When oil prices are high, it affects everything from metals to food and energy production. But how could there be a shortage of oil to make the price so high? It’s because of the stock market wizardry. Those who are robber baron allies, buy future’s contracts to artificially show that there is way less available oil than they’re actually is. So even though they don’t take possession of the oil, they own it on paper. When the price of oil gets high enough, they dump the stock, or, contracts rather, and make a huge profit all the while sending food and energy and gasoline and medical care spiraling higher.
If you look at history, once again it points the way! And this has been going on for decades. Why hasn’t it been changed? The last time there was such a huge kerfuffle about it, they said that the persons who buy the contracts have to take possession of the oil. Not just contracts, not just on paper. But there was an outrage unleashed about that potential regulation. So it continues. And an artificial shortage which creates great angst in the population, drives stupidity for those who want to just listen to others tell them what to believe!
An executive order would have changed all of that, but, there are huge bundlers that fill the pockets on both sides involved in this sleight of hand, so why kill the Golden goose?
These shadow traders which really are not shadows at all, but doing it in plain sight, control the prices of everything, and, artificially cause unnecessary pain and burden on the average individual. Don’t take my word for it, just do your research!
And I have to throw this in there, there were so many that didn’t vote for Kamala Harris because they were afraid of electing a black woman. It voraciously spread through the Latino community, and, the male contingency of most ethnic groups!
Like I said, stupidity, willful stupidity? Will full ignorance? Willfully deluded/delusion? Or just an excuse? It’s the mob mentality, well so and so must know something, and so and so heard such and such on blah blah! It makes it easier to be willfully stupid! And it also makes it easier to expose your prejudices because there’s an excuse, giving those plausible deniability!
Character did not count in this election. How do you say to children – you can grow up to be president one day. Work hard, be a good person and you too can be president. Wait. be a felonious, treasonous, cheating, lying man (because misogyny keeps women from power in the U.S.) and use pejoratives when you want to get to the top. Brag about your ill gotten wealth while having no charity in your heart. Have sexual escapades. Do all those things with impunity and you will rise in the opinions of more than half of this country
Sheila,
You and your son sentiments are spot on. We must support and lift each other up during the coming times of insanity.
Thank you for sharing your son’s comments. I, too, am in a category that will probably be ok but I have an obligation to help make our world safe for the next generation, including my niece and my nephew and his family, that includes two little girls. So I won’t give up.
Your son is wise beyond his years. Thank you. It’s confirmation of the old adage about the apple that doesn’t fall far from the tree.
At this time we really need to begin to focus on one of your favorite things: civic literacy. I wrote yesterday about man on the street interviews that were scary because none of them knew when the election was held.
Consider that we have just elected a convicted felon. He has yet to be sentenced so we don’t know what will happen. If he gets prison time, will it be stayed for four years, will he be allowed to do the job from prison or will the 25th Amendment be put to use to install President J.D. Vance? I’m betting on option three, but that depends on how the demons in the Senate really feel about their former colleague.