Hey everyone. I was going to post this a few days after Tuesday, when we knew if we had a chance of saving our country or dooming it. Then the reality check happened, that it was going to take a while. We finally got a decision today: Biden wins. At least, he will if Trump doesn’t try to steal the election and crush our hopes again. The judges so far are throwing out the lawsuits and taking no nonsense from lawyers that seem to be underpaid for shoddy paperwork.
First off, thank goodness. Seems like I won’t grow tomatillos and can redirect self-care to other ventures. It is demoralizing to think of the fact that Trump would win again, and so would white supremacism and Handmaid’s Tale nonsense. (No joke I saw some video footage of ladies in red praying outside voting offices for “justice” to prevail. Margaret Atwood wasn’t kidding when she wrote about oppressed wives forced to repeat, “Blessed by the fruit.”)
Campaign efforts went in our favor for the presidency at least. With the Senate, we need to work on that and make sure conservatives don’t have a majority. The runoff campaigns in Georgia can make all the difference. I donated and hope that others will as well. Volunteering for letters is also on the table.
I was getting deja vu about how 2016 went. That’s wasn’t a fun year, and the election results killed my Nano project. Relationships ended, and betrayals ensued. (For the record, I still disown my Trump-voting uncles and you better hope I don’t come to India or Connecticut to meet with either of you. There is no more respect for elders.) Since then, I haven’t really done Nano projects that stick with one story or nonfiction.
Humanity rarely makes progress. Instead, we go in circles. Sometimes we make a law change, and racist and sexist jerks try to set us back. At least we have a step forward now. What matters is that we commit to that. That means no longer legitimizing fascists, calling for them to be de-platformed, and working to improve our state of mind.
Emotionally, during the circles, the time that we are climbing to the top rather than falling to the bottom can take a moment to ground ourselves and enjoy the present. I received a wake-up call recently that letting yourself stay at the bottom can be hazardous, so you do what you can to help yourself climb back up. That’s not going to be easy, but I will also commit to that. Yes, I’ll be miffed but it has to be done.
