Come on. Who among us will deny that we’re all holding our breath until Wednesday at noon? Actually, I suspect we’ll be holding our collective breath for longer than that.
Yes, we’ve had a reprieve for a few days. Sunday didn’t turn out to be as antagonistic as it could have – not be a long shot. And I’m grateful that was the case. But the détente doesn’t feel sustainable. Actually, what I mean is, it doesn’t feel like it January 6th was the final attempt at a coup.
Maybe we’ll all be pleasantly surprised, and the inauguration will go on without a hitch. Perhaps we’ll be able to joyfully celebrate the historic magnitude of Kamala Harris becoming Vice President. I sure hope so.
Mind Game
It’s fascinating to contemplate the devastation so many of us felt four years ago, and the overwhelming numbers of people (mostly women) who marched in protest to the inauguration that year. It’s beyond remarkable to remember just how vast the numbers were of protesters across the world – peaceable protesters – who marched without violence, without bloodshed, without hate for others.
That’s not what we’re seeing now. The situations almost defy comparison.
Listening to President-Elect Joe Biden’s speech this evening, one of the phrases he used to describe this moment was ‘inflection point.’ While I had a basic grasp of what he meant when he used this term, I nevertheless felt the urge to look it up.
Dictionary.com set forth four main definitions, with the second definition having six sub-headings. I wasn’t expecting that many options. However, it was the fourth entry that described the situation most accurately:
Mathematics. a change of curvature from convex to concave or vice versa.
When I read that definition, I ‘saw’ and understood.
Imagine a Contact
Imagine a ‘hard’ contact lens, a concave surface, face down on a table. The election of Donald Trump four years ago essentially had us, as a country, ski boarding down the curvature of that contact lens toward an untimely and devastating crash landing into the table.
Suddenly, however, through the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we’ve reached an inflection point. This is where the concave shape of our trajectory changes completely. The contact flips so that it is convex, tilting upward.
Now, instead of barreling toward a future that has us destined for a metaphorical face-plant and certain death, we’re heading upward. And not just any old ‘upward.’ No, where we’re headed, the sky’s the limit.
It’s a new day. All of us can dream new dreams – but especially, our little girls. Our country reached an inflection point and the trajectory of our journey has changed.
We – they – can set their sights where there are no limits. We – they – can reach for the stars.
Rainbow Selfie – with Kamala at our backs – Photo: L. Weikel
Eve of Our Future
Well, we’re finally here. The time to stand up and be counted, to let ourselves and the world know where we’re headed, has arrived. We’re here. We’ve arrived at the eve of our future.
What will that future look like? I don’t need to tell you. We all know the consequences – some of them immediate – of the choices we’ll be making tomorrow.
We either repudiate what’s been done in our name over the past four years (regardless of how well our portfolios or 401(k)s may have done – that is, if we’re lucky enough to have either) or we don’t. We either show the world 2016 was an aberration, a ‘black swan event,’ or we don’t. We either take a stand against some of the most barbaric, egregious policies and behaviors of any government, much less our own – or we don’t. We either commit to being a global partner and leader in addressing climate change, or we make it worse.
I could go on.
Justice, Integrity, Truth, and Respect
These are the qualities on the ballot tomorrow. And while we yearn to have these values restored within the White House, I sense there’s an even deeper craving for these values to be declared far and wide – and modeled everywhere – as qualities inherent in the way Americans treat each other.
What do we have to lose if we don’t vote, or if vote to retain the current president? E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. He has declared his intentions. Are we listening? There are precious few who will benefit, while vast swaths of our country fall into abject misery.
Love, Compassion, and the Power of Diversity
I believe in us. I believe in our dignity and devotion to higher ideals than the value of the stock market or the country of our origin. I believe that deep down, all of us yearn to be treated with love and compassion. I believe in the wisdom of our forebears who succinctly espoused the greatest strength of our nation: e pluribus unum. “Out of many, one.”
Kamala Harris – Photo: L. Weikel
Rare Treat
As you’ve adroitly surmised from the accompanying photos, Karl and I were invited to an event today featuring vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Taking in the entire milieu as we waited for Representative Wild, Senator Casey, and others to arrive and speak, I will admit to feeling an overflow of emotion. Not wild abandon. Not screaming passion.; but a wellspring of hope and yearning for aspirational governance.
Speaker after speaker, from activists to representatives, spoke with conviction, yes. Each spoke with passion, a sense of commitment to change, and a demand for inclusion and diversity. But there was one thing not a single one of them brought to the table: cynicism.
Kamala Harris – 2 November 2020 – Photo: L. Weikel
Kamala Harris
I’ve paid attention to our politics. I knew from her resume and the interviews and debates I watched that Kamala Harris is a strong candidate. But there’s something extra you feel when you experience candidates up close and personal. It’s hard to define, but you feel their energy, perhaps a bit more of their essence.
And I couldn’t help but feel we were getting a chance to truly view the Eve of our future.
What an exceptional capstone to a remarkably challenging and unconventional Democratic Convention. I can honestly say that even four years ago, I don’t think I would’ve believed I’d hear so many politicians use the concepts of love, hope, and light, as the fundamental and most powerful arguments for their case to the American public.
Most shocking of all, to me, is the unabashed hue and cry for more love. Love for our country. Love for each other. Just typing these words makes my heart quicken and my breath catch in my throat.
I’ll admit it. I was a little nervous that Joe Biden would falter or come across as lackluster or perhaps lagging just half a beat off this evening. Perhaps this was because I heard him speak in Philadelphia back in September at the first ever Workers’ Presidential Summit, and while his sincerity was unquestionable (and his experience unassailable), he seemed tired. And maybe he was. I, for one, do not know how any of the candidates managed to criss-cross the nation and maintain the energy and enthusiasm called for to address tens, hundreds, and thousands of people day in and day out.
Clarity, Courage, and Fire
But when all was said and done, Joe got it done. And I guess that’s what being a leader for the times is all about. It’s doing what needs to be done when the moment presents itself. It’s seizing the opportunity when the gauntlet is thrown and coming through not only for yourself but for everyone who yearns for clarity, courage, and the fire to fight for all of us.
Speaking of clarity, courage, and fire, I doubt there was anyone who watched 13 year old Brayden Harrington metaphorically walk on a bed of hot coals in front of the entire nation (and probably not a small part of the entire world) and was not blown away by his unbelievable courage and grace. That segment spoke volumes about the character of both Joe Biden and Brayden Harrington, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget the powerful impact it made on me.
Rays of Hope and Light
I don’t have words that can improve upon this evening’s final speech. So I just want to leave you with this quote:
“Let us begin, you and I, together. One nation under God, united in our love for America, united in our love for each other. For love is more powerful than hate; hope is more powerful than fear; and light is more powerful than dark.
This is our moment. This is our mission.
May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here – tonight.”
I’d be lying if I tried to pretend I didn’t watch the Democratic Convention this evening. (Who would I be kidding anyhow? I’ve watched every night so far – you know me well enough to know that.) And as enthusiastic and hopeful as I’ve felt watching every evening, I came away tonight with the unmistakable verification of my worst fears. Barack Obama confirmed in a speech that could only be called a starkly dire, honest warning that we really and truly are at extreme peril of witnessing the destruction of our republic.
The speech he gave tonight was chilling. It was compelling. And if you were paying attention and really listening to him – and by that I mean not only hearing his words but also observing his expressions and paying attention to his mannerisms as he spoke – you could not miss the urgency in his message.
After that speech tonight, there can be no doubt that our country is in grave danger.
President Obama spoke with a concern and barely controlled combination of rage and despair over what we’re all witnessing. If you have even a cursory appreciation for how he has spoken at other conventions (or anywhere, for that matter), you know that this was remarkably different. This speech truly was a call to stand up and take responsibility.
Kamala’s Opportunity
It seems to me that President Obama laid out just how bleak and dire everything is right now not only because he feels the perilousness at hand, which he unequestionably does. But he also did it this way so that Kamala Harris could take this one night to introduce herself to the vast swaths of the United States that aren’t familiar with her, and not have to spend precious minutes of her time attacking Donald Trump.
We all know a vice presidential nominee’s main raison d’etre is to be the attack dog. This strategy enables the presidential candidate to ostensibly keep their head above the fray, while their partner prosecutes the case against the opponent (and in this case, the incumbent). Tonight it almost seemed as if Obama ran interference for Harris.
The chilling part, though, is my strong sense that Obama couldn’t have been more straightforward in his warnings. This is not a joke. It’s not hyperbole.
This election could very well be the last chance we have to save our country from falling into an abyss of tyranny and authoritarianism.
Plan Your Vote
As the Democratic party seemed to be hammering home all evening, it is essential that we do whatever we must to ensure that our responsibility to vote is exercised in this election. There are powers that be – powers that would resort to literally ripping mailboxes out of the ground to prevent you from voting by mail – that will do anything to remain at the top of the food chain in this country.
Especially as a result of the pandemic, we must make sure we know exactly what our deadlines and other rules are in our state (whatever state that may be). If you need help in getting the best information about voting in person or by mail in your state, text VOTE to 30330.
Armed with knowledge and a determination that no one and nothing will succeed in standing between you and your right to cast your ballot, you are unstoppable. You are a patriot. You will be able to look yourself, your kids, and your grandchildren in the eyes and say, “I voted. I did not sit it out.”
