“The Next Great Chapter”
I’ve been laying low since Christmas, working my metaphorical balls off. I’m naturally an observer and someone who likes to do my work quietly and surrounded by solitude. After the election (hell, after 2020, after the last 5 years of personal struggle after the last few years of communal living that exhausts my introvert tendencies…) I desperately needed a break from the noise. So, I took it. I’ve been keeping nose to the grindstone and putting pen to paper (and fingers to keys if we’re talking literally), minding my business and doing my work since Christmas, mostly ignoring politics in all of it’s sneaky little forms. I wasn’t even planning on watching the inauguration but something drew me in this morning. I have to say, I’m glad I tuned in…
I feel like I can finally breathe after holding my breath for 4 long years. Many of you might recall that I was pretty vocally not for Biden|Harris 2020. It’s not that I hate the guy, I just don’t necessarily believe him or think that his political record makes him the savior of democracy that he’s been touted as. Watching his speech today however, filled me with something that I haven’t felt for quite a while… Hope.
When I tell you that I CRIED, like full on weeping throughout the entire broadcast… Can we just bask in it for a second? Today’s ceremonies spoke to my heart and the absence of Trump’s hate-filled, pompous voice was a welcome gift. There was no taunting or arrogance, no hatred, name-calling or lies. The message that was delivered to the American people today was one of hope; Something we ALL collectively need to begin our healing from the hurt caused during these 4 years of fear and hate based rhetoric. For the first time in MY life, I feel like we might truly be on the precipice of real, tangible change.
Democrats, i’m just gonna go ahead and take ya’ll at your words today: ‘First we get the presidency back, then we hold these MF’rs accountable’ (I’m paraprashing of course). Today I will choose to bask in the hope and unity that is laid out in front of us as a real possibility, if we choose it. The world is paying attention now, Americans are getting involved in our democracy and we’ve all been so damn stressed out that personal mindfulness practices are (quite possibly) at an all time high. Maybe what we really needed was a wake up call.
Am I happy that Biden won? Let’s just say i’m not gonna storm the fucking capital about it. Do I love and admire Kamala Harris? Currently… nah, she gives me mad sneaky vibes. Like I said, I was pretty vocal in my support of the Libertarian candidate in this election, which meant that I got shit from both D’s and R’s about how I chose to use my vote. Honestly, those conversations are so valuable to me because I personally really love it when someone calls me out as ‘wrong’ for something. It gives me motivation to dig deeper and find out if my beliefs are based in facts or emotions. During one particular discourse relating to the ‘lesser of two evils’, a friend whom i’ve always respected, plainly asked me if Biden would be worse than 4 more years of Trump. My belief at the time was that R’s and D’s are one and the same; Two faces of the same evil, political coin. I honestly still believe that on a grand scale but taking into consideration everything we’ve seen since that conversation occurred, I can see now that what the dem’s have been shouting all election season about getting a Democrat into the presidency and then holding them accountable… well, it might just work; But only if we can hold ourselves accountable too. Complacency has no place in a democracy where “justice for all” is still clearly not being served.
After witnessing day-one executive orders to begin reversing the damage done since 2016, a beautiful speech given by the new president and an absolutely moving poem written and shared by Amanda Gorman, I can't help but feel hopeful that it will spark unity in a country divided (almost as much as we’ve ever been) by a hateful, self-serving, lying, sad excuse for a man. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again- Donald Trump is a symptom of the division in our country, not the cause but he drew the ugly, racist underbelly out into public view and now maybe we can start to work on the healing. Those old-ass ideals will die off eventually right? I’m just sayin…
Moving forward, I choose to embrace that hope. Breathe in, breathe out, hold your racist/sexist/homophobic friends and family accountable for their words and actions and march on. There is much work to be done.
✌🏻♥️