So, here we are. Our most strongly held values have been repudiated by 75 million Americans. Some thoughts this morning:
It's important to remind ourselves that 65 million of us (along with most of the free world) were thrilled by the future that Kamala and Tim represented. We have all been winded by the gut punch of their decisive defeat, but we are many, even if Trumpists are more.
America goes through periods of isolationism and Know Nothing politics. This is one of those times. Brace youselves. It's going to get uglier. Ukraine and Taiwan are in more danger than they were on Monday. In the Islamic world, the Sunni-Saudi vs. Shia-Iran religious proxy wars will continue their slaughters in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucusus. China and Russia are fucked up but still able to do damage. Americans will ignore shit that happens in countless places they can't find on a map. The whole world gets worse when America stares at its navel, but we consistently refuse to be the world's policeman/therapist until we have no other choice but to get involved.
Globally, this election will rank with the defeat of Al Gore as a tragic missed opportunity to deal with climate change. I've been trying to find some way to feel less politically impotent here in my deep red state of Ohio. Having poured a lot of time and energy into the soundly defeated anti-gerrymandering Issue 1, I've settled on signing up with Climate Changemakers, which is easy to Google. I need something concrete to do, beyond all the personal household habits I've had since the 1970s WHEN WE KNEW IT WAS HAPPENING.
We are 65 million who will go forward. We don't need permission to act. Find something to do. Despair is not an option.
Mary, I am absolutely grateful for this vision and the call to find something to do. For me, right now, it's clinging to kindness and picking kale. If I may share another bit of what feels like wisdom to me that has shown up in more than one of my circles in the last 36 hours: We must process the feelings we're having, allow ourselves to grieve and rage, in order to come to a place of being ready to take the next right step. What we marginalize in our emotions now will show up as ugliness some other way.
Thank you, Mary. i appreciate your thoughtful addition to our conversation, I really do. I can't get past the very real fact that Trump and the Republicans will now own us. This isn't the same as anything in our history. They hold all branches of our government now and they're corrupt as hell and attached to a known lunatic who doesn't care who gets hurt.
If this isn't as bad as I think it is, I'm willing to listen to how it can be fixed. If we have to wait for another election two years from now, it will surely be too late. Trump is now in a position to do damage to us and to the world, and he knows he can do it without interference or prosecution. He's a madman on a mission and there's nobody with the power to stop him.
Am I wrong? I sincerely hope so, but I don't see it.
I think my first reply disappeared. I just renewed my membership with the ACLU, which has contingency plans for the worst case scenario (at this moment, the US House is not decided yet. There will be damage almost immediately- he can impose tariffs on his own authority, and then he owns the massive inflation that will cause. He can try to start deportations, but then, who p8cks the crops? Who staffs the old folks homes? Who constructs the houses? He will own all the chaos.
Maybe all we can do is bear witness, but this is what history (and our fellow citizens) have served up for us. I give it a 15% chance that this is the end of American democracy, but I also think Project 2025 is going to trample on a lot of people who didn't expect to be harmed by his election. I will not weep for them.
"Maybe all we can do is bear witness". That's no small thing. Our history, written and recorded, is evidence now. We use it to refute lies, to send warnings, and to remind ourselves that we are worth fighting for. I've shared many of my own archived pieces as evidence of who I was and who we were and where we were when certain events happened. I'm glad they're there. They're treasures now, for me at least, and if I quit now that will all end.
Well said. Feeling a little despair is normal though. I've had my moments. Nothing helps me more than writing. Grateful to be on Substack and forming community.
Excellent breakdown! But, we also have to quickly identify and address the issues that resulted in Kamala/Tim garnering 16 million less votes than President Biden did in 2020.
Thank you for writing. It certainly helps to share these feelings of desolation, especially when you are alone in your home. It is time to rest and grieve now. But the time will come when we will know what to fight and how to fight, and I think that will give us the wherewithall that we are missing now. Sending love.
Hi Ramona, I don’t have any words of consolation, as you know I’m not American, yet I still feel… yes… bereft. Like something beautiful has gone. My husband says we are all exaggerating and it will be ok, I don’t know… I wrote a lighter piece this afternoon, made myself smile (there is a corrupt baddie in it) and it felt good to play a bit. i have sent your heartfelt piece to my mama who is also very upset, just as she is over the way Brexit has made the lives of so many english people very difficult. so much corruption, so many lies. I am sending you a hug❤️
I hope we get through this like the last time. Hope springs eternal. Half of us did not desire this outcome, and when things go bad, that may change. Mostly people just go for whomever they think is offering the best deal and speaks with the most authority. That doesn’t make it right, but it makes the choice easier. It is amazing how many Americans seem to have developed amnesia. They will need some reminders to refresh their memory, and unfortunately, we will all receive them shortly. Enjoy everything else about your life, and take a break from politics.
I can't stop caring either. I'm grief-stricken as are millions. For me, I will not watch the news or read the headlines. I will not be a "nice" Democrat who tolerates Trump. I already moved to Mexico after the Iraqi invasion and false WMD fiasco. For now, I'm done with fighting for the U.S. I will continue to serve humanity here with a global perspective. I'm so ashamed of the country I used to be proud of.....
Thank you for putting into words what many of us are feeling and summoning the strength to do it.
Yesterday was very gray and bleak. The sense of doom and foreboding was overwhelming and I cried during Kamala’s concession speech.
I am grateful for a couple of snow days from my little pre-retirement job at our school district. Time to emotionally regroup before facing a world that is becoming more alien.
Far fewer fellow Americans, as I see it.
Contemplating it many times before, I finally deactivated my Twitter X account yesterday. It was a big step, after 10 years, and joining The Resistance on that platform six years ago.
I tried to be a digital warrior, stay informed, sign petitions and support larger platforms fighting Trumpism.
Enough. I won’t endorse anything to do with Elon Musk ever again.
Though the days ahead will get better, and some decidedly worse, this moment can be a personal reckoning for those of us in our ‘golden years.’
I, too, am questioning how much more of my precious life energy to devote toward saving Neanderthals from themselves.
We will all face their collateral damage.
This is not the America that I grew up in nor is it a society that protects its most vulnerable.
Our nation is morphing into a ruthless authoritarian oligarchy (Russia) with a preponderance of lockstep idiots ushering it in ….
As I said before, I am so so very sorry that you are feeling this at this stage of your life. What a miserable thing to experience in your golden years.
All I can -- and I know you know this -- is that life is so very precious and each day is a gift.
Earlier this year I met a woman in her 90s in Australia who said she knew her time was limited and she was simply letting the cares and problems of the world behind as she marveled at the miracle of birds and the glory of a sunset or the sound of the waves.
I hope you find a measure of peace, especially since you've fought the good fight for so long.
Thank you for another heartfelt piece beautifully written. I agree with all that you express. And I implore you to keep writing. Sharing our thoughts in communities such as this can be our foundation of strength and I hope, ultimately, redemption.
Thank you, Elliot. We still have our community and it will grow stronger with your help and that of the others who feel the same fear but have the strength to carry on. I think I need this time to grieve and maybe even feel sorry for myself. But in the end there are people who will suffer far more. I need to be reminded of that. It's for them we do this.
Hi Ramona, Mary Doria's comment expresses the entirety of my feelings. My deepest values have been overruled by 75 million people. I don't know what or how to to think. In the short term I have turned off the news, I refuse to listen or hear anything from or about him. I'm also trying to write an article that expresses my anguish at this turn of events. Kamala said in her concession speech yesterday that the election did not turn out as we hoped, but that doesn't mean we don't keep fighting for the things we believe in. For me, I don't know what that looks like yet, but I'll figure it out. Because - like you - I can't stop caring - it is who I am..
I'm so grateful to all of you who come to share this space with your wise thoughts and the care you feel for all of us in this community. I wrote this in despair this morning, and already I'm feeling lighter. I can't thank you all enough.
Ramona, I'm so with you in the grief and anger and wondering what's next. I'm going to stay lightly informed, but give myself a rest through the holidays, but I know after some rest I'll be able to carry on with some sort of activism. You deserve to pass the baton if that's what is best for you - we will pick it up for you!! Thank you for everything you did for this year's election. The largest grassroots effort in history is something to be proud of even if it doesn't feel like it right now to many of us. But it really was incredible and I'm happy to have been a part of it along with you. 💙💙
Ramona, I feel similarly in many ways. It is hard (understatement) to wrap your head around what has happened. It is hard to imagine my heart feeling light and hopeful. It is hard to fathom fighting.
For me, Kamala’s speech last night was so friggin inspiring.
For me, I will grieve. And then I will work toward cultivating joy and hope and change—because we’re going to need them all in spades. (And I’ll hope to the goddesses I don’t lose my health care.) eeek.
Thank you for being you, for all you’ve done and written, and for following whatever will be best for your heart and whole self going forward. May you cultivate joy, along with your grieving. Both can be true.
Ramona, Sending love and hugs your way. This is so much harder than the last time.
So, here we are. Our most strongly held values have been repudiated by 75 million Americans. Some thoughts this morning:
It's important to remind ourselves that 65 million of us (along with most of the free world) were thrilled by the future that Kamala and Tim represented. We have all been winded by the gut punch of their decisive defeat, but we are many, even if Trumpists are more.
America goes through periods of isolationism and Know Nothing politics. This is one of those times. Brace youselves. It's going to get uglier. Ukraine and Taiwan are in more danger than they were on Monday. In the Islamic world, the Sunni-Saudi vs. Shia-Iran religious proxy wars will continue their slaughters in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucusus. China and Russia are fucked up but still able to do damage. Americans will ignore shit that happens in countless places they can't find on a map. The whole world gets worse when America stares at its navel, but we consistently refuse to be the world's policeman/therapist until we have no other choice but to get involved.
Globally, this election will rank with the defeat of Al Gore as a tragic missed opportunity to deal with climate change. I've been trying to find some way to feel less politically impotent here in my deep red state of Ohio. Having poured a lot of time and energy into the soundly defeated anti-gerrymandering Issue 1, I've settled on signing up with Climate Changemakers, which is easy to Google. I need something concrete to do, beyond all the personal household habits I've had since the 1970s WHEN WE KNEW IT WAS HAPPENING.
We are 65 million who will go forward. We don't need permission to act. Find something to do. Despair is not an option.
Mary, I am absolutely grateful for this vision and the call to find something to do. For me, right now, it's clinging to kindness and picking kale. If I may share another bit of what feels like wisdom to me that has shown up in more than one of my circles in the last 36 hours: We must process the feelings we're having, allow ourselves to grieve and rage, in order to come to a place of being ready to take the next right step. What we marginalize in our emotions now will show up as ugliness some other way.
Ramona, I've been thinking about you so much.
And still we rise...
Hi Mary,
That stuff you mentioned about processing our feelings is so spot-on. Thank you.
😌
Thank you, Mary. i appreciate your thoughtful addition to our conversation, I really do. I can't get past the very real fact that Trump and the Republicans will now own us. This isn't the same as anything in our history. They hold all branches of our government now and they're corrupt as hell and attached to a known lunatic who doesn't care who gets hurt.
If this isn't as bad as I think it is, I'm willing to listen to how it can be fixed. If we have to wait for another election two years from now, it will surely be too late. Trump is now in a position to do damage to us and to the world, and he knows he can do it without interference or prosecution. He's a madman on a mission and there's nobody with the power to stop him.
Am I wrong? I sincerely hope so, but I don't see it.
Get me down from here!
I think my first reply disappeared. I just renewed my membership with the ACLU, which has contingency plans for the worst case scenario (at this moment, the US House is not decided yet. There will be damage almost immediately- he can impose tariffs on his own authority, and then he owns the massive inflation that will cause. He can try to start deportations, but then, who p8cks the crops? Who staffs the old folks homes? Who constructs the houses? He will own all the chaos.
Maybe all we can do is bear witness, but this is what history (and our fellow citizens) have served up for us. I give it a 15% chance that this is the end of American democracy, but I also think Project 2025 is going to trample on a lot of people who didn't expect to be harmed by his election. I will not weep for them.
"Maybe all we can do is bear witness". That's no small thing. Our history, written and recorded, is evidence now. We use it to refute lies, to send warnings, and to remind ourselves that we are worth fighting for. I've shared many of my own archived pieces as evidence of who I was and who we were and where we were when certain events happened. I'm glad they're there. They're treasures now, for me at least, and if I quit now that will all end.
I'm going to have to remember that.
A heart to heart hug, Ramona.
They don't own you! Sending lots of love and hope that you will find a way forward.
Hi Mary,
Well said. Feeling a little despair is normal though. I've had my moments. Nothing helps me more than writing. Grateful to be on Substack and forming community.
Excellent breakdown! But, we also have to quickly identify and address the issues that resulted in Kamala/Tim garnering 16 million less votes than President Biden did in 2020.
69 y.o. here . . . my feelings are much the same. I suspect tho’ that I will eventually carry on with the fight, but for now I need to heal my psyche.
In fact I know I will carry on with the struggle to make this World a place where human brutishness is a thing of the past.
#Don’tMournOrganize!
Thank you for writing. It certainly helps to share these feelings of desolation, especially when you are alone in your home. It is time to rest and grieve now. But the time will come when we will know what to fight and how to fight, and I think that will give us the wherewithall that we are missing now. Sending love.
Hi Ramona, I don’t have any words of consolation, as you know I’m not American, yet I still feel… yes… bereft. Like something beautiful has gone. My husband says we are all exaggerating and it will be ok, I don’t know… I wrote a lighter piece this afternoon, made myself smile (there is a corrupt baddie in it) and it felt good to play a bit. i have sent your heartfelt piece to my mama who is also very upset, just as she is over the way Brexit has made the lives of so many english people very difficult. so much corruption, so many lies. I am sending you a hug❤️
Thank you for your candid remarks. Stay strong in your convictions and use your voice. You are an inspiration.
I hope we get through this like the last time. Hope springs eternal. Half of us did not desire this outcome, and when things go bad, that may change. Mostly people just go for whomever they think is offering the best deal and speaks with the most authority. That doesn’t make it right, but it makes the choice easier. It is amazing how many Americans seem to have developed amnesia. They will need some reminders to refresh their memory, and unfortunately, we will all receive them shortly. Enjoy everything else about your life, and take a break from politics.
I can't stop caring either. I'm grief-stricken as are millions. For me, I will not watch the news or read the headlines. I will not be a "nice" Democrat who tolerates Trump. I already moved to Mexico after the Iraqi invasion and false WMD fiasco. For now, I'm done with fighting for the U.S. I will continue to serve humanity here with a global perspective. I'm so ashamed of the country I used to be proud of.....
This is exactly how I feel Ramona.
Thank you for putting into words what many of us are feeling and summoning the strength to do it.
Yesterday was very gray and bleak. The sense of doom and foreboding was overwhelming and I cried during Kamala’s concession speech.
I am grateful for a couple of snow days from my little pre-retirement job at our school district. Time to emotionally regroup before facing a world that is becoming more alien.
Far fewer fellow Americans, as I see it.
Contemplating it many times before, I finally deactivated my Twitter X account yesterday. It was a big step, after 10 years, and joining The Resistance on that platform six years ago.
I tried to be a digital warrior, stay informed, sign petitions and support larger platforms fighting Trumpism.
Enough. I won’t endorse anything to do with Elon Musk ever again.
Though the days ahead will get better, and some decidedly worse, this moment can be a personal reckoning for those of us in our ‘golden years.’
I, too, am questioning how much more of my precious life energy to devote toward saving Neanderthals from themselves.
We will all face their collateral damage.
This is not the America that I grew up in nor is it a society that protects its most vulnerable.
Our nation is morphing into a ruthless authoritarian oligarchy (Russia) with a preponderance of lockstep idiots ushering it in ….
As I said before, I am so so very sorry that you are feeling this at this stage of your life. What a miserable thing to experience in your golden years.
All I can -- and I know you know this -- is that life is so very precious and each day is a gift.
Earlier this year I met a woman in her 90s in Australia who said she knew her time was limited and she was simply letting the cares and problems of the world behind as she marveled at the miracle of birds and the glory of a sunset or the sound of the waves.
I hope you find a measure of peace, especially since you've fought the good fight for so long.
I'm in the same boat at you and many others. There are a lot of leaking holes in this boat. I'm sad and grieving, trying to take care of myself.
Thank you for another heartfelt piece beautifully written. I agree with all that you express. And I implore you to keep writing. Sharing our thoughts in communities such as this can be our foundation of strength and I hope, ultimately, redemption.
Thank you, Elliot. We still have our community and it will grow stronger with your help and that of the others who feel the same fear but have the strength to carry on. I think I need this time to grieve and maybe even feel sorry for myself. But in the end there are people who will suffer far more. I need to be reminded of that. It's for them we do this.
Feeling pretty much the same, but I hope to be actively opposing policies.
Hi Ramona, Mary Doria's comment expresses the entirety of my feelings. My deepest values have been overruled by 75 million people. I don't know what or how to to think. In the short term I have turned off the news, I refuse to listen or hear anything from or about him. I'm also trying to write an article that expresses my anguish at this turn of events. Kamala said in her concession speech yesterday that the election did not turn out as we hoped, but that doesn't mean we don't keep fighting for the things we believe in. For me, I don't know what that looks like yet, but I'll figure it out. Because - like you - I can't stop caring - it is who I am..
I'm so grateful to all of you who come to share this space with your wise thoughts and the care you feel for all of us in this community. I wrote this in despair this morning, and already I'm feeling lighter. I can't thank you all enough.
Ramona, I'm so with you in the grief and anger and wondering what's next. I'm going to stay lightly informed, but give myself a rest through the holidays, but I know after some rest I'll be able to carry on with some sort of activism. You deserve to pass the baton if that's what is best for you - we will pick it up for you!! Thank you for everything you did for this year's election. The largest grassroots effort in history is something to be proud of even if it doesn't feel like it right now to many of us. But it really was incredible and I'm happy to have been a part of it along with you. 💙💙
Ramona, I feel similarly in many ways. It is hard (understatement) to wrap your head around what has happened. It is hard to imagine my heart feeling light and hopeful. It is hard to fathom fighting.
For me, Kamala’s speech last night was so friggin inspiring.
For me, I will grieve. And then I will work toward cultivating joy and hope and change—because we’re going to need them all in spades. (And I’ll hope to the goddesses I don’t lose my health care.) eeek.
Thank you for being you, for all you’ve done and written, and for following whatever will be best for your heart and whole self going forward. May you cultivate joy, along with your grieving. Both can be true.
Sending a hug.