I woke up on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016 and checked my feed to see if Hillary Clinton had been declared the winner yet. I remember feeling my stomach go sour in real time when I learned that Donald Trump had carried Michigan and Wisconsin, and won the whole shooting match.
For context, I was not excited for a Clinton presidency. The two-party primary system often produces two undesirable choices. 2016 featured (in the far corner) a seasoned senator and Secretary of State with tons of baggage and an irritating stage presence VERSUS (in this corner) a cartoon. I fully expected for the adult to win, and for the next four years to be a lot like the last four.
What does that mean? Deliberately blinkering present-day hindsight, I suppose I expected that national and global matters would continue to occupy a portion of my attention. I would agree or disagree with some of the administration’s policy objectives while investing the bulk of my attention on my job, marriage, friendships, and interests.
“Der mentsh trakht un got lakht.”
“Man plans and God laughs.”
—Yiddish adage
For the next four years what the United States and the world got was a feckless narcissist. Cynically held at arm’s length by the GOP, the Evangelicals, the Dominionists, and the Money, while their agendas were furthered. Cultishly adored by an assortment of bigots, temporarily embarrassed millionaires, Iron John throwbacks, and those simply lacking the imagination to do anything other than support the party they always had, while their wallets were lightened. Sanctimoniously mocked and vilified by lofty academics, celebrities with opinions, New Yorker-reading artisanal egg-eaters, and those on the Left who confuse the approbation of their individual identities with a political platform, while their positions were eroded.1
Behavior unbecoming a functioning adult, let alone the President of the United States of America, was modeled and normalized. Refugees were subjected to inhumane conditions, violence and hate were stoked and encouraged, a public health crisis was politicized and left unchecked, the media were declared the enemy, and an electorate was further polarized.
The last four years have been exhausting, and I think most people across the political spectrum nationally and internationally, whether willing to admit it, are looking forward to a breather before donning their armor and diving back into the fray. Go on, no matter what your politics, light some candles and have a soak. Breathe. Let your hands roam curiously.
The road ahead is long. I expect for the pandemic in the US to get much worse before it gets better. I expect this to be a significant driver of a global Depression that makes the 2008 financial crisis look like the teacups at Disney. I expect for the outgoing president to continue his screed of hate and division; a sad little king on a sad little hill.2 I suspect that some faction of Y’All Qaeda will get riled up enough to take a shot at President Biden or Vice President Harris. I hope they fail.
Coming from someone whose heart is allegedly filled with spiders, this may sound disconcertingly pollyannaish, but I suggest we find ways to lighten one another’s load. Whether your instinct is to gloat, rage, or clam up, please consider that most people have a lot on them right now, regardless of their politics or ideology. Consider seeking ways, no matter how small, to elevate each other. Please.
My doctor (the fellow I’ve seen for the last 30-odd years for annual physicals and the occasional STD) said something to me years ago that stuck. “Nothing is ever as bad or as good as it first seems. Now, drop your trousers and think of Christmas.”
It seems as good a mantra as any.
