But the events of the past 24 hours, and the election of Donald Trump as the next President, have left me utterly shocked and shaken to my core (Disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of Hillary Clinton either but if I had had to choose...). Waking up this morning and hearing the news, I literally turned the radio off and rolled over to go back to sleep in the hope that it was a dream and when I really awoke, the news would be different. When that didn’t work, I lay in bed looking out my window to see if the sun would actually rise today. (It did, and it was a fairly spectacular sunrise, as most mid-autumn sunrises on the edge of the marsh are).
I know millions of people will be writing about the election results, and probably all of them will have many more profoundly insightful things to say than I do. But for me, part of the process of writing a journal or a blog is for my own personal benefit, to try to unravel the deep mixed emotions of events or issues, and create some sense out of chaos, at least for me. So here I am, drinking some Fort Henry Black Powder Tea, which, given its origin, seems rather apt, and pondering the aftermath. (I bought the tea this summer at Upper Canada Village, which partially commemorates the Battle of Crysler Farm during the War of 1812. The tea is heavily smoked and I think of campfires on the battlefield when I smell it).
Like you, I have listened to the news, followed the fallout on social media, and tried to make sense of what happened south of the border. I have felt deep despair, fear, a loss of faith in humanity, and yes, even a little loss of faith in God. And it isn’t even 10 a.m.
There are many questions as to how Mr. Trump could be elected and how every single pundit and pollster could have been so devastatingly wrong. There is a lot of analysis out there right now, probably much of it inaccurate. I saw one graph which showed that Trump was basically elected by white men and women (I think the statistic was something like 64% of white men voted for Trump); every other demographic voted for Clinton. Another person commented that the results indicate that there are many Americans who are closet racists, misogynists, etc. who were too timid to indicate their real choice (Trump) to pollsters but not too timid to actually vote for him. One Facebook friend reposted a tweet that said “What I learned on Election Night: Being a racist, bigoted, prejudice [sic], lying sexual predator is still more acceptable than being a woman.” Van Jones, a CNN commentator, calls this election a “whitelash” – backlash against eight years of having a black president. There is a lot of talk about how the mostly white voters who supported Trump feel dispossessed in a politically elite system that ignores their anxieties and realities.
Personally, I feel a great deal of despair. I do not understand how anyone who claims to care about humanity can vote for Trump. To me, he is the epitome of a man who represents everything anti-Christian, anti-humanitarian, selfish, greedy.... I could go on, but you have read it all before elsewhere. I am fearful for Americans of colour, women, gay and lesbian people, immigrants, Muslim Americans, children and anyone else who belongs to vulnerable populations.
I am fearful for my own nation. Before we get too complacent as Canadians, let me remind you that we had Stephen Harper as our prime minister for 10 years, and let’s not forget the divisions, distrust and discriminatory policies that characterize his legacy. We are not immune to Trump-ism. Even in my own small town there are people who are openly proud to do whatever they can to generate hatred, fear, suspicion and division, and who loudly proclaimed their support for Trump and all he represents.
I could go on. Like many of you, I am experiencing so many feelings this morning.
However.... In the midst of all the negativity, and all the options for choosing disgust, despair, and grief, I began to see glimmers of hope. Several people posted ways in which they would try to find light at the end of what seems like a very dark tunnel. One of my facebook friends, a very wise young woman, posted the following:
“What I'm telling my kids:
In America, they have had some tough years. Many citizens are tired, broken and afraid. They weren't sure who could best help them so they picked. They may have made a mistake.
And, because we are friends and neighbours, we are here for our friends even when they made choices we don't like.
Our neighbours may have a tough road ahead. They need us more than ever.”
I saw an article on Huffington Post written in response to a school principal that encouraged adults to find positive teaching moments for children in the wake of a Trump victory. To promise to protect our children and assure them that democracy is not dead. She wrote: “Tell them... that you will honor the outcome of the election, but that you will fight bigotry. Tell them bigotry is not a democratic value, and that it will not be tolerated at your school. Tell them you stand by your Muslim families. Your same-sex parent families. Your gay students. Your Black families. Your female students. Your Mexican families. Your disabled students. Your immigrant families. Your trans students. Your Native students. Tell them you won’t let anyone hurt them or deport them or threaten them without having to contend with you first. Say that you will stand united as a school community, and that you will protect one another. Say that silence is dangerous, and teach them how to speak up when something is wrong. Then teach them how to speak up, how to love one another, how to understand each other, how to solve conflicts, how to live with diverse and sometimes conflicting ideologies, and give them the skills to enter a world that doesn’t know how to do this.” (You can read it here).
And I remembered the final vision of Jack Layton, which he shared with Canadians just before his death a few short years ago:
“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
I am still in shock and despair. But as many of you have chosen to do, I make a conscious decision to choose love, hope and optimism. I cannot change the outcome of this most unsettling US election, but I can choose how I react to it. And I choose to take steps that will change the world – at least my small part of it – for the better.
Two years ago, Canadian Foodgrains Bank posted this prayer, which is so appropriate for today and the coming days.
May all I do today
be for the healing of the whole
May all I do today
mend this broken world
May all I do today
bring blessing on the Earth
May all I do today
be for the good of all
All I do today
~ Jan Novotka
Let’s decide to heal the whole, broken world, with love, hope and optimism.
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