What Could Have Been

My Facebook memories this morning reflect hope, optimism, and confidence.

I don't want to see tomorrow's memories.

It was three years ago today that we voted for the most qualified person ever to run for President of the United States. A woman whose mantra begins "Do all the good you can . . . ."

"We've got this," we thought. "We've got this," we said.

But we were mistaken.

Now we are heading into the last year of our national nightmare. Three years in which countless tweets have insulted countless individuals. In which our standing in the world has crumbled. In which women have worked and fought to hold onto rights that should be unquestioned, unchallenged. In which children have been separated from their parents and caged until they could be shipped off to placement with unknown people in unknown places. In which a lewd, rude, narcissistic, racist man has continued to put himself, his family, and his cronies ahead of the nation he promised to lead. In which our National Parks are increasingly threatened. In which a Swedish schoolgirl knows and understands more about the devastation that is happening to our planet than the President of the United States does. I could go on. And on.

And so we enter the last year of this horrible presidency. It is going to be a rough year in which the Democratic candidates will demean each other in order to put themselves front and center. In which Mr. Trump will insult, lie about, and castigate all of them. In which families, already split, will become further divided.

How can we bear it?

I've thought about her so many, many times during these three years. I remember the one glimpse I had of the inauguration. Seeing her on the platform, I thought (and said), "I wish I'd had the foresight to invite her to lunch today. Then she wouldn't have to be there. How can she bear it?"

She bore it. She bears it. And so shall we. 

The upcoming months will be brutal, and we will bear it. This woman for whom my admiration only continues to grow has shown us that we can.

In due time, a candidate will emerge as the one to defeat the incumbent. Once again, we'll have hope, optimism, and confidence. And we will work as hard as we can to see her or him elected.

Comments

Barbara Anne said…
Well said. Amen and amen.

Hugs!
Barbara Anne said…
Well said. Amen and amen.

Hugs!
Barbara Anne said…
Strangely, the prompts below said I'd left the comment area blank so now there are duplicate comments.

:)
LizA. said…
A-men. A-men. Amen, Amen.
Janet O. said…
Oh, how I recall the horror and disbelief I experienced during the election returns. I hope America has learned its lesson!
Anonymous said…
Well said.
Janet said…
As a Canadian who has enjoyed your posts for a long time...I rejoice in this last post... because ..we are all connected...I have great hope for a better political world for us all.👍👍😁
deb oldenburg said…
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID....WHAT IS SCARY IS THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP TO HIS RALLYS AND SUPPORT HIM AND WHAT IS HE HOLDING OVER THE REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS...THAT THEY DO NO HAVE THE COURAGE TO STAND UP TO HIM.... I HOPE ALL PEOPLE OF COLOR VOTE SO THERE IS A RESOUNDING NO TO HIM AND HIS CRAP IN THE NEXT ELECTION. LORD I WISH THIS ERA WAS OVER
"we'll have hope, optimism, and confidence"
Well that is true. Our political views are parallel.
I often think way back to the night I went to sleep thinking Al Gore was our next president.
How different our world would be now, especially related to Climate Change.
I live in Indiana. You can barely find a person here that would not kiss a trump a** if given the opportunity. Yes, we will work hard because if we don't we may not have the opportunity to do so after 4 more years of this.

Keep the faith.
Sue said…
oh, Nancy, I am just catching up with your blog a few days late and you brought me to tears. November 9, 2016 was my birthday and the worst day of my then 74 years. This week of impeachment hearings and learning how much worse the man is than we even realized has brought back the sick feeling of that time post-election. I can only pray that there are enough good people voting next November to bring an end to this national nightmare. I do believe it will take years for us to heal even when he is gone. I am taking to heart your line that if she can survive this, so can we. Clearly I do not have her strength, but I am going to seek to follow her example and survive this. Thank you for your blog and for your beautiful words expressing what so many of us feel.