If you, like me, are feeling down and a bit dispirited since the results from Election Day became clear, then you are likely searching for something or someone to provide some source of comfort. Something...some words or thoughts that will help us make some sense of what we saw, and of the frankly alarming trend of such a huge percentage of Americans (it clearly was over 50 % of the electorate) who seem comfortable with willingly - and in some cases even enthusiastically) handing the reigns of power to someone who never made a secret of being power-hungry, to the point where it seems like he has dictatorial leanings.
So I was looking around, and searched for Jello Biafra, the former frontman for legendary punk band The Dead Kennedys. A lot of what he predicted many decades ago now has indeed come to pass. So it seemed like it would be interesting to see what he would have to say.
Instead of giving any reaction on his own on his Facebook page, he posted this video from Elezabeth Warren. Furthermore, he said that she had a better response than anything than any words he might have come up with. So I watched it, and sure enough, it was pretty good.
To be sure, it is not magical. She does not provide the solution, or offer the perspective to make it all okay. But the truth of the matter is that things are not okay in this country. They may not be okay for a long time to come.
However, this video did have some words of wisdom. She accepts the defeat and deflated feelings that so many of us have been suffering through since Tuesday. But she also reminds us that things often are not nearly as dire as our worst imaginings. And that despite seeming bad news, we have a responsibility to react accordingly, and with purpose. All is not lost.
For now, I think that it's okay to feel down, perhaps even to grieve for a few days. Admittedly, I have felt down since Election Day. There was a sinking feeling that I had regarding this particular election, which I have had admittedly since shortly after the 2020 election ended. On Tuesday, those fears (and worse) were confirmed. This is one time when I would desperately have loved to have been wrong, and to share in the confidence that so many people had that Trump was going to lose. But he won, and decisively at that. So any hope was extinguished by fairly late that night. When I woke up to a gray and overcast morning yesterday, it felt ominous, yet also fitting. I took a vacation day and visited my family in western New York, and none of us did anything yesterday. Mostly just sat around, watching tv or surfing the internet, and just trying to come to terms with the reality of what happened. And I think that's okay. We all need that from time to time.
But it is not okay to allow this to defeat us permanently, to simply give up. We are, all of us, trying to make the world better, and this is what we need to keep doing regardless of the setbacks. I am trying to convince myself of this, as well.
This is not to say that there will not be pain or suffering ahead. Surely, there will be.
However, we need to get back up, dust ourselves off, and keep going. Keep fighting for a world that we believe in, and which makes sense to us. There are still good people out there, and there is a lot of beauty and goodness in this world, and that is worth fighting for.
Besides, what else should we do?
Take a look at this video by Elizabeth Warren concerning the election results, and where we stand now, and what we should do. It is worth viewing:
Elizabeth Warren Responds to the 2024 Election
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