Click. Read. Love. 11.8.24

On despair, rage, and what to do next.

From And Yet by Kate Baer.

I sit alone in the quiet darkness of our guest bedroom. The only light coming from the glow of my computer screen. The blinking cursor hovers over an empty page, a reflection of the emptiness I feel inside. The morning after election night I woke up with a raging sore throat and aching limbs. Maybe it’s just the virus that passed through our house a few weeks ago finally catching up to me, but it feels like a bad omen, one that mirrors the heaviness in the air. I fight back tears as I make eye contact with other moms at drop-off, our eyes are red, swollen, heavy.

I have spent the last few days vacillating between despair, rage, fear, and sadness. My blind optimism leading up to this election did not serve me well in the end. Though I could find many faults with the Democratic Party and their nominee, I thought that most Americans would see Donald Trump for who he is, a rapist, a convicted felon, an admirer of Hitler. They did, and they still voted for him, and that’s the worst part.

The democratic norms and guardrails in place during the first Trump presidency no longer exist. This time, it will be worse. The world’s 10 richest people got a record $64 billion richer from Trump’s reelection, in one fucking day. We are entering a new era. One that will tip the scales even further in favor of wealthy white men, granting them even more power and money, while the rest of us bear the cost, both literally and figuratively—yes, life is about to get a lot more expensive.

You don’t have to look far to hear about how bad it’s going to get under the Trump administration. Quite frankly, I can’t bear to repeat any more of it because it’s sending me to such a dark place. But here’s what I know: we don’t have to wait for a political party or figure to come to our rescue. We can’t do that, because no one is coming. If this election has taught me anything, it is that we are the only ones who can save us from this hellish nightmare.

We will turn our despair and rage into action. We will find solace and strength in our communities. We will build stronger connections and coalitions in our neighborhoods. We will care for and protect one another. We will create the roadmap for a future grounded in peace, love, respect, equality and community. We will show our children what it means to be good citizens, grounded in values of justice, empathy, and compassion. They will be our future leaders.

As Marion Teniade wrote:

We are all we got. And that means we can build something for us.

The group chats on my phone are overflowing with despair and rage, yet in the very same breath, they also carry resilience and a shared promise. A promise to never lose hope. To remember that we are stronger together. As one friend said to her young daughter, even when Trunchbulls are in charge, there will always be Miss Honeys and Matildas who stand up for what is right, and fair, and good. Those people make a difference, and inspire others to do the same.

The Trunchbulls are in charge now, but we all know how that story ends.

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In this week’s edition of Click. Read. Love.

• What I watched/listened to while sick in bed

• An incredibly fun game that also makes a great gift

• What the Democratic Party must learn from this election

• An upbeat, feel good soundtrack for all the depression walks in my future

• A comedy to add to your watchlist

• And more…