I voted for Kamala Harris. But to sit through election night and watch her vote tallies fall short in my current home state and my future home state made me ask why, what happened, whose fault was it, etc. All kinds of questions and many of them about the hearts and minds of those who supported Trump. Polls told us that the "state of democracy" and the economy were the major contributing concerns of voters. These categories did not mean the same things to all voters.
As I was listening to the commentators, whose biases remain progressive, egalitarian, and transparent, I heard them slipping from confidence, to hope, to concern, to sadness and I slipped just slightly ahead of them. So . . . that's what happened.
Now it is December and I am more aware of the less than helpful way my usual sources informed me and my "fellow travelers." They missed something about the Trump campaign's machinery and methods. It seems they performed their own version of the Democratic party's reliance on precedent and custom. It was as if they -- Biden and Harris, too -- thought honor, trust and gentility were more important than "winning." That was true as long as you could count on a majority of Republicans to share that belief. History will show them long bereft of that historic -- perhaps mythological -- manner.
Certainly Harris made some space between her campaign and the White House. I think mostly by avoidance and busy-ness. "Not going back!" wasn't just about correcting Trump's MAGA obsession it was a soft exit from Biden's gravitational field, too. My thinking here is to make sense of things like her finding a position mostly by nuance that was not locked to Biden's support of Israel such that he couldn't say enough or do enough to protect the legitimate resident's of Gaza. Harris tried to move toward Gaza just enough but could only get so far without scaring her well-heeled Israeli supporting donors.
All the while Trump and Vance verbally pissed on foe and even at times, friend. It feels like they knew something about their voters. They knew there were more in the right places than most polls could verify. And they knew there was a path -- mostly via that damned Electoral College. I'm thinking they knew because they had already put something in place. Meanwhile, much -- perhaps most -- of their "pissing" was an assurance that those voters were "in."
That assurance may become a deceit, at least as far as predictions about the economic effect of tariffs and deportation can be believed. Didn't Musk tell us there was going to be hardship? Hasn't Trump more than doubled down on his tariff promise? He's going beyond his original China, Mexico, and Canada. He's also upping the ante, threatening 100% tariffs on BRICS. Trustworthy economists are generally forecasting harder times than Musk's warning indicated. Minus Trump's ultra wealthy supporters those hardships will befall -- just like Trump's piss -- foe AND friend.
We are now solidly in the land of oligarchs. As much as MAGA invokes the past, don't confuse them with dinosaurs. They are ready to pay for all the tyranny Trump can provide as cover for their thumbing the scales in their favor. Tax cuts are just the obvious methods. To their benefit and theirs alone they will continue to fund a destruction of our beloved country and government one "cabinet" at a time.
Maybe to my detriment I believed ours would continue as a system "of, by, and for the people." I'm willing to consider that my belief is not a memory or a recent history. It is certainly an aspiration. But I cannot see a way forward to citizenship as constitutionally established with Trump's oligarchs hoarding the wealth they did not make and getting the government they purchasing for themselves alone.
Timothy Snyder is the best voice I hear for how we can again become citizens who will grow into an even more progressive, egalitarian, and transparent society.
On the way, I hope to demonstrate the values of honor, trust and gentility. I know I do not intend to respond in a vengeful or selfish way. I also know that I cannot count on "precedent and custom" to win the day. Those historic standards are now dependent on a more muscular and vigilant practice. We cannot afford naiveté or passivity. It means being a good citizen has radically changed.
So . . . what do I do? I start by managing my own life into being nimble and helpful. Part of being nimble is to hone the "voice" I have as an older educated white man. I am a retired Episcopal priest, so I am conversant with others who have power and profess a belief in grace. As well, I'm pretty sure I know someone who is likely to need my help. I want to be able to respond. Like Brian McLaren wrote a while back, we make the road by walking. There's more, much more to come. Pay attention.
