It took a week but I am now finished with my bout of pessimism after the election. No, things aren’t any better than they were when it became clear that Trump would win, and no, I have not concluded that Trump is likely to be any better than my worst fears after January 6th. Instead I have decided to focus on America and the proactive work that we needed to do even if the election had turned out better.
The fact that polls throughout the campaign consistently told us that roughly half of America was willing to vote for Trump no matter what outrageous or nonsensical thing he was doing or saying at the time meant that even if he had eventually lost the election we were obviously overdue for some national soul searching.
Besides searching our own souls and trying to more clearly understand why so many people around us were willing to put a character with no moral character back into the Oval Office, we also need to get about the business of accurately understanding and effectively addressing the underlying causes of so many very real problems that our nation is grappling with. Despite the fact that Harris lost we can take good ideas that she campaigned on and refine them based on what we learn and prepare to implement them wherever and whenever we find a path to do so. (Yes, even with Trump at the helm there will be some opportunities if we watch out for them.)
I was prepared to take a defensive posture and simply try to survive the next four years but I’m done with that. There will certainly be defensive things we can and should do but I’m planning to spend the bulk of my energy proactively trying to build the better America around me that I optimistically believe is still/always within reach. After all, our Founding Fathers concocted a representative democracy that has lasted almost 250 years despite being under the rule of King George when they started. Surely we, who have lived under their republic (“if we can keep it”) can move forward even with these headwinds.
And hey, if you still need to do some grieving before you have strength to stand up—head held high—and move forward with optimism for what America can be, take whatever time you need. I’ll be over here, working and waiting (but not judging anyone) until you are in the headspace to move forward optimistically in creating the America that deserves to be a shining city on the hill for the rest of the world to both envy and learn from.
