Wednesday, September 23, 2020
I couldn’t sleep last night. My mind would not quiet down. Why? Seeds of doubt about the results of the upcoming election would not leave me alone and I was unable to meditate them away.
But, quiet them I must. Along with my liberal and progressive kindred spirits, I need to let go of the idea that if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don’t win the presidency this November, that our Democracy is doomed to a downward death spiral toward a totalitarian Oligarchy similar to the one in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Surely it will not be a step in the right direction towards true American greatness should the Republican Party control the White House for the next four years. Yet, neither will it be a terminal event in the history of our republic.
This is where I turn to history. Historians remind us that there was life before us and that there will be life after us. Historians like Doris Kearns Goodwin, Michael Beschloss and John Meacham remind us of that. It is stories from the past that bring me solace and comfort in this dark time. Meacham’s book “The Soul of America,” focuses on several events in the presidential history of the United States. Any of these events could easily have been interpreted to be “the end of life as we know it.”
History shows us that Americans and American institutions are quite resilient. Even when it seems that our current times can get no darker, there exists at least one lone vibrating photon of light energy to show us the way.
My efforts to elect a new president and change the balance of power in the Senate over to the Democrats will not in any way waiver. I am writing personal letters to “reluctant” voters through the non-partisan organization Vote Forward. I am selectively donating money to candidates up and down the ballot. I proudly display an “I Believe…” yard sign in the front yard and I remind myself and others with a sidewalk chalk message that says “Stay Focused, Black Lives Matter.”
But, what I have resolved is that my personal happiness and hopefulness will not depend on a larger collective decision that I cannot control. As the Serenity Prayer reads: “God grant me the courage to change the things I can change, the serenity to accept the things that I can’t change and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Coping with the Upcoming American Election
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