Wow America!
I just read what I wrote two years ago when Trump won. A letter and the things I've learned.
Given how different things turned out this election, I figured I should write some things too.
1. There's a difference between gloating and being very excited. I feel much more of the second, not because "we won" but because America seems to have found something long buried in its soul.
2. In that letter two years ago I said let's put more energy into powerful women. Wow, did powerful women win a ton in this election. Powerful Latinas, powerful Native Americans, powerful black women, powerful white women, powerful veterans, doctors and experts in all kinds of fields and one particular powerful woman fired by Hegseth coming back to take House seats.
3. I said let's put more energy into people leaving Christianity - and wow did Christianity show up - the Jesus ways - in this election. I mean Talarcio, Hamilton... these two have me thinking that I could be a Christian again. Not really but you get the point. The Jesus message finally kicked over the Nationalistic, ego and empire, Pharisees. Also El-Sayad may be a Muslim but I've always said the mystics are my people, more than any religious and El-Sayad has some of that mystic blood for sure. I'm here for all of it!
4. The question I ended the letter with was: how do we teach our kids love is greater when hate keeps winning? Damn, it feels good to know that hate often does have a run but boy does it not "work" and humans get pretty tired of it pretty quickly. The GOP (MAGA version) has been identified by hate and wow, did that version of hate get its ass kicked. Yes, prices, the economy, the war... but that's what this version of hate has done... nothing, because it never does. And America saw that.
5. I'm a Democrat, sure. But, I'm also an idealist who wants equality, and America to function more like Sweden than Russia and wow, that's what has me excited. These are Democrats sure, but these are intelligent, communicative, thoughtful, kind, human beings who want to treat their fellow humans well. There is a desire for systemic change that feels honest and raw and I'm here for every second of it, more than I'm here for Democrats, I'm here for love.
TLDR: Trump was a stain on the world in every way. If you don't believe that, watch clips of him on Kimmel every night - you don't need Kimmel, just watch the clips. He was absolute pathetic, not because he's a Republican - as I've said a million times - but because he's mean, vengeful, arrogant, unaware, and has no ability to see long term consequences over short term thrills, which is almost the definition of intelligence. And America, finally got sick of it.
So... a new letter.
Dear America,
Thank god you woke up. You're still in love with money and power but there are cracks, big cracks, that I haven't seen in a long time.
Sometimes, like an addict, I wonder if you needed to get pushed to the bottom as fast as possible, so that you could wake up and see where the addiction to money and power get you.
There is still sooo much work to be done and fighting an egotistical, corrupt, con artist, who is as stupid as he is petty, and struggling mightily with dementia at the same time. He's broken a lot of things but this seems like a start... a start towards the direction we want to go.
I genuinely hope we can be addicted to things like equality, care, kindness, thoughtfulness, and progress and start to make this a nation that it's never really been, but that many of its citizens have always dreamed it could be.
Cheers,
ryan