Wit and Wisdom
by Beth Broderick
My last article was published on November 4, 2024, twelve days ago as of this writing. November 5th occasioned an electoral outcome that shocked and dismayed many while thrilling others. It is no secret that the results were not what I had hoped for. I believe that the implications of this vote are as far-reaching as any I can think of in my lifetime, but the people have spoken.
This is not a political Substack. There are others writing en masse, and dissecting every nuance of the contest. That is above my pay grade, but I have a few thoughts to share.
I was at Jeremy’s. We have spent many an election night together. Neither of us can be trusted in public, as we are likely to spit out expletives and slap our heads in dismay as the vote count rolls in. I made pasta with burst tomato sauce and a simple Caesar salad. We had some good crusty bread (which I always scrupulously avoid, gluten being a big trigger for my psoriatic arthritis), but it was an occasion of sorts, so I allowed myself a small piece.
“She is underperforming in Virginia,” Jeremy said aloud while I was busy in the kitchen. My heart dropped.
As the news got worse, I had two more pieces of bread and Jeremy broke out the lemon snap cookies, which we consumed at a rapid pace. No amount of physical pain was going to matter in the morning. I would be numb to it for several days. Everything had changed. Everything.
I left early, as we were both rendered speechless by the proceedings. I had understood that we might lose the White House. A woman running for any office is going to have a rough go of it in this country. President of the United States? I worried that we were just not there yet. I did, however, think my side would eke out control of the House and Senate. Split the ticket, as it were. I was wrong. It was a sleepless night.
The next day, as I walked my dog through Beverly Hills, I saw a young woman strolling along with her man. She was sporting a MAGA hat and a pretty smile. He doted on her, holding close to the elbow nearest him with his other arm around her shoulder. They were a beautiful couple. "Well,” I thought, “I guess it’s good that someone is happy today.” I really did have that thought.
My friends and family have had a disparate set of reactions. Some are devastated, wracked with pain and filled with fear. Some are happy; others angry. Many are not all that bothered.
“Oh, I am not going to worry about that. I just want to build my business,” said one friend at dinner.
Another pal winced when the subject came up and then shrugged: “Let’s talk about other things. I mean there are always silver linings, right?”
I suppose that is true. The Mercedes Benz company came out of World War II wealthier than ever. Some folks will do very well in the new America. Others will suffer.
“I have unsubscribed to all news outlets and social media. I do not want to know,” said one family member.
“Hey guys, I am not going negative with you all. We still have agency over our lives.” He is brilliant and a powerful force for good, so he was not being cavalier.
I see his point about going negative. I mean, that won’t help, and yes, we still have agency over our lives; that is 100 % true…unless it is not.
I keep thinking about that seventeen-year-old girl in Texas who, a few weeks ago, celebrated at a baby shower thrown for her by friends. The next day she began to hemorrhage and the medical personnel who were supposed to help her could not, or did not out of fear that they might violate the new abortion restrictions in that state. The girl died. She had literally no agency over her life in that political climate. So….
“I am going to focus on what I can control,” said another friend who then added. “I love you.”
I appreciated that. We all need love right now.
The main difference between these folks? Some of them pay attention to politics. Most of those folks were truly baffled and broken-hearted. Others are indifferent to the state of the nation, and they were nonplussed by it all. I understand that there are many points of view, including the folks who are happy with the outcome, but I need to take a minute to breathe and try to see this situation for what it is.
The thinking of many in the left/center-left coalition has long been that folks just did not understand what they were in for when they pulled the lever for Donald J. Trump. This election has made it clear that they know exactly what they are in for and that “Fascism” and/or “Soft Autocracy” sound like a good idea. New and different, anyway. Folks on the left have been crying out “Save our Democracy!” between gnashed teeth and ever more exclamation points to no avail. What they did not expect, could not imagine, was that a large group of Americans just did not get that message. They might not, in fact, know exactly what a Democracy is or why it might be worth saving.
ALL HANDS ON DECK.
The frustration with progress has been palpable on both sides for a long time. People want resolve; they want quicker, if not instant results. Most recently, we have all lacked patience with the fact that the whole world has been in recovery from a pandemic. It does not matter to many that we have done so in record time and built a booming economy out of the wreckage. Prices are high, and that’s no fun–it is a real hardship on many families.
We want someone to FIX it!
The real culprit, I think, the source of so much division and unrest, is the slow and steady growth of income inequality and the failure of both sides of the political spectrum to address it. It has been growing since the 80’s. No matter which party has been in power, that gap has continued to widen. This is not easy to resolve, because to do so would surely mean raising taxes on the wealthy, and those are the folks with the money to put leaders in power or take them down. There are no easy answers.
Our forefathers could never have imagined how big a nation we have become. America is an enormous expanse which houses millions upon millions of citizens. They could not have predicted the sheer magnitude of the place, and yet they instinctively built a system of government that was meant to move slowly. The wheels of change are meant to turn in a deliberate manner. That was a great insight on their part. One cannot turn an oil tanker on a dime. A ship of so great a dimension must turn with caution, moving its mass incrementally. A massive cruise ship does not have the agility of a speedboat or even a tugger. For most of our history there have been enough safeguards in place, cogs in the wheels to keep us from careening too far, too quickly.
That is about to change. One side now has control of the House and Senate, as well as crucial parts of the judiciary. The president-elect is threatening to eliminate the independence of the Treasury department and dismiss most of the experienced officials in our armed forces. This big boat is about to take some very, very sharp turns.
For my friends and family who voted in favor of this, it is good news. I hope they are right. I hope so with all of my heart, because I am always rooting for us to succeed.
Change is definitely coming and coming quickly. This brings to mind the old adage:
” Beware what you wish for; you might get it.”
What to do? Get some sleep. We cannot react to what has not yet happened. Let your mind and body rest. Pay attention to your local politics, start a community garden, volunteer somewhere, be a part of whatever small solutions seem possible. My guess is that the waters will be very choppy indeed and that some things we hold very dear will be washed overboard, but we are all still in this boat together. I keep thinking of the famous line of Fred Rogers from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood:
“Look for the helpers.”
There will always be trouble in the world, and greed, and people seizing power when and where they can. There will always be those who seek to defame and destroy folks who look or sound or just plain seem different. Many civilizations have seen fascism rise and then fall and lived to tell the tale. So will ours. In the meantime, don’t just look for the helpers. Be one of them.
On we go …
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