Kamala’s Fight Is Our Fight Now

Keep looking for the light in others and the future

I didn’t open my computer to look at the news yesterday. Today I am inching back, and frankly do not know where to start to think about all this.

Our country is a mess. That is perfectly clear. We need to figure out how to come together, how to help those who will be targeted. And figure out how to voice outrage or concern in constructive ways. We need to look for the light in EVERYONE. It’s hard, but it’s the truth.

That said, I’ve tried, but I don’t see light in Donald Trump or JD Vance. I think they are motivated by bad stuff, some of the millions who voted for them may also be motivated by greed and malice, but I will push that thought aside because it’s not helpful. I can only look inside myself and try to make that better, and reach out to others.

This morning I was in a zoom meeting with some people, one of whom is the head of a large school in Washington, DC, populated by predominantly liberal families. He told us that yesterday a young middle school boy came to school wearing a Maga hat. The head of school said that he knows the boy and his family, and believes that the boy wore the hat less to make a political statement and more to get back at his dad because they had just had an argument of some sort. We don’t know what people are going through. Make no assumptions. There are so many elements to the election result, it is mind boggling: racism, sexism, classism, disinformation, on a myriad of levels.

I look to historians to help me feel better. Some say that we have been here before, and even in worse situations; that is helpful to hear. Americans continue to try to make things better in fits and starts. We are deeply flawed, but so many are trying to create positive change.

In Harris’ concession speech yesterday, which I excerpt below from historian Heather Cox Richardson’s letter this morning, she said the following:

“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle as much as any other distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. At the same time in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God. 

“My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuels this campaign, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people, a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.”

Harris urged people “to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.” She told those feeling as if the world is dark indeed these days, to “fill the sky with the light of a billion brilliant stars, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service,” and to let “that work guide us, even in the face of setbacks, toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America.” 

I, for one, would vote for her again. We know her , she is a great speaker, leader, humanitarian, fighter. She came so close.

One thing I learned from having an alcoholic parent is that one needs to take it one step at a time. Trump may not be able to do the things he said he was going to do, he may not want to, some of what he said campaigning he may have never intended to happen. For example: RFK, Jr. said after Trump won that he has no intention of taking away vaccines, when in fact he had hinted at it. Vance may be salivating for drastic change—in fact I worry more about the people around Trump than Trump himself. But being on guard and informed is better than projecting what might happen, thinking doom and gloom. It only clouds thinking, in my opinion. That’s what I tell myself when I go down that road.

So take it one day at a time and keep a bright future in sight.