WE Are Not THIS

I did not sleep last night.  At all.  I dare say so very many of you did not either.  There was no away to turn from the awfulness, the confusion, the surreality of what was happening.  In the light of day I cannot tell you I believe the end result.  Too many billionaires, too many bomb threats, too much self assuredness for too long with no underpinning for it to make sense, too many hints that he didn't need votes, that he and Mike Johnson had " a little secret", and the very obvious - the math simply not mathing.

All that being said, and honestly, that really is about what I can muster right now - my thoughts are with the my son, my daughters, my granddaughter, every woman - even those so stupid as to vote against their best interests, with the decent men who stood with us.  So many are going to be hurt, devastated by this repulsive orange pawn.  And make no mistake, that is what Trump has always been.  An easily manipulated means to an end for some very rich and powerful players.  When he gets window cancer very shortly after January, don't be surprised.  So many who voted for this menace are going to end up being first in line for the pain, and shocked that he meant them, too.

For today, I need to think, to be still, to try to breathe, to circle the wagons around my family.  My response and message were easily found in what I wrote the morning after this happened in 2016.  Every word.  Not a single change necessary.

The good people DO still outnumber the bad - we know that, we saw it with our own eyes.  The bad just have much deeper and sinister pockets.

Linda

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Last night we watched as the unthinkable happened in this country.  And by "we", I mean the decent people of the United States of America.

The people who care about their neighbor.

The people who care about education, information, facts.

The people who do not fear those who may not reflect their own likeness.

The people who truly see the beauty in the rainbow of humanity, sexuality, gender.

The people who give even when they themselves are in need.

The people who fight for what is right, not for what is expedient.

The people who hold out their hand to the underdog - their hand, not their fist.

The people who watch news from around the world and feel horror, compassion, and the deep urge to help those affected even a world away.

The people who understand the hurt and horror behind a brazenly and ignorantly flown Confederate flag.

The people who practice a religion yet have no problem with their neighbor practicing another, or none at all.

The people who believe in a woman's right to make decisions covering her own body, existence, journey.

The people who understand that "bootstraps" are not a real thing, but that hunger, oppression, disadvantage, and prejudice are.

The people who sat open mouthed last night, eyes filled with tears.

We watched as the other people elevated the most inexperienced, race baiting, misogynistic, egomaniacal opportunist to our nation's highest office.

And we wept.

Because WE are not THIS.

We are a country whose history IS this, but WE are NOT this.  We understand the struggle, the blood shed on our behalf to open up opportunities, equalities, advances.  We did not take for granted those sacrifices yesterday - we walked forward and cast our ballots for more progress, more equality, more protections for those who have sat outside the words "all men created equal," desperately hoping we would eventually live up to the potential of that phrase.

We watched as the media allowed journalism to finally, fully die.  As they salivated over ratings instead of their civic duty to investigate, inform.  They are completely complicit in turning our election into the world's worst reality show.  

And they will have blood on their hands.

Because WE are not THIS, but they gave endless voice to those who are.  They helped legitimize hate.  They had their microphones and cameras turned towards the worst because he gave them what they love the best:  ratings.  They did not care about anything but how many were tuned in to the endless train wreck that culminated in last night's complete destruction.

We watched as people who claimed to be decent, claimed to be Christian, claimed to be allies, stood shoulder to shoulder with white supremacy, zealotry, bigotry, and hate. And this morning, as I have told you all along, you cannot stand neck deep in sewage and claim to be clean. You ARE this.

We watched as those we had pleaded with to not throw their votes behind a person who had no shot, to look at the bigger picture of what was at stake - did not.  If ever the phrase "our votes do not count anyway" was shown to be a lie, last night was it.  Your votes absolutely counted, because you stole from so many others to do what?  Wake up feeling morally superior?  Sorry, you wake up today in a country in which you have exposed, hurt, and endangered so many people.

And it is too late to ask, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"  We all know the answer, and you will have blood on your hands.

Because WE are not THIS.  You are, but WE, the decent people, are not.

We, the decent people, wake (if any of us actually slept at all) knowing the fear that is in the hearts and minds of so many people this morning.

My son is terrified.  I am terrified with him.  I am terrified for my friends of color - all color.  I am terrified for my friends who have been raised in religions that are targets now on their backs.  I am terrified for every decent person who stood up and tried their best to protect everyone, even to protect the proudly ignorant from themselves.

In the end, it just wasn't enough.  Love does not always conquer all.  Our better angels sometimes lose to the devils of other's natures.  

But WE are not THIS.  

This morning, that is all I know.  I know who you are - the decent people who tried.  And I know who you are - the ugly, ignorant, selfish, short sighted bigots who will never understand that we were already making America great, by making it live up to the promises set down on parchment so long ago.

What happened last night is unforgivable.  But we also know who did it.  THEY may be cheering their own capriciousness and hatred today, but in the long game of this country, they will not win.

Because WE are not THIS.

Comments

[Robin in New Mexico]

I volunteer at my local food pantry. The food we distribute comes from Feeding America, an umbrella organization that gets much of the food we distribute from Department of Agriculture. Elon Musk talks about eliminating 2 billion dollars from the Federal budget. That is approximately the amount of "discretionary" money in the budget. That money goes to fund most Federal agencies (except military) If the USDA budget is cut, we won't be able to get food, to help people. When consequences begin to happen, people will say "I never thought of that!" They can leave off the prepositional phrase.