I am no stranger to political loss. I ran a decent campaign for state representative in 2012, but my opponent, a well-funded Republican, beat me handily (58% to 42%). But today’s loss is different. This morning, we all woke up to a world that is not the same place it was yesterday. I have to wonder whether this feeling of grief and horror is how my elders felt on November 22, 1963. Something important, that was once beautiful though imperfect, is broken, perhaps irreparably.
I do not want to point fingers, to wail and moan about the coming years, to wring my hands with worry. I want to get past my feelings of anger and hostility, my disgust with an electorate so ill-educated and short-sighted that it has elected a person monumentally unfit for the highest office in the land. I want to put aside my fear for my children, my guilt for not doing enough to prevent this.
Maybe I’ll get there tomorrow, or the next day.
Not today.
Today, all I can see is an America that is sick and dying. Today, I can only see that democracy is not the best form of government when a populace persists in selfish, xenophobic, and inhumane beliefs. Most painful of all, today I have to admit that the country I loved (despite my criticisms of it through the years) is a fiction, a mere chimera.
Today, I mourn for everyone who will be touched by this tragedy, and they will number in the millions. And to my readers across the sea and above and below the border, today I apologize for my country.
Today, I am ashamed to be an American.
Tomorrow, the resistance begins. Who will lead it? What form will it take? We will find out the answers to those questions when the shock and disbelief wear off, when the sharp edge of grief subsides. And until then, we can console ourselves with the knowledge that we will not give up fighting for what’s good, and decent, and right. Because that’s how Americans–true Americans, those who are not motivated by greed and fear–act.
Here, then, is my battle cry: I will not give up.
The Tabard Inn 
I am none of the things that are listed in the article. It is shallow sterotyping at best and something else at worst. I simply disagree with the policies and damage I have seen and personally experienced by the government – regardless of party – in recent years. To vote for a person as despicable as Hillary was untenable for me. She and her husband are still under investigation on multiple fronts and it is more than enough to not blanketly dismiss as mere political assasination. At best, she is status quo-not good enough for me. I find it interesting the choices people make when they face a fork in the road. I could have written the same article from the other perspective if Hillary had won. The difference is, I wouldn’t have done so. I respect and welcome disparate views – there is no growth without challenge. We don’t always “win” and this could be categorized as a loss either way. I know 2 things for certain- 1) Trump will experience the full measure of checks and balances written into the constitution-Hillary would not have and 2) even if Trump is as bad as expected, maybe it will wake the populace up and bring a better day.
Either way, America will survive and continue to evolve in a manner that will benefit ALL her citizens. I am NEVER ashamed to be an American – warts and all.
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We never did see eye to eye, Craig. There’s no reason to expect us to now, so long after we first met. Experiences change people. For me, the main experience in my life is being a woman, and how anyone can support Trump after the things he’s said and done about and to women is beyond belief. I’ve approved your comment, because I believe in free speech, but I will not enter into further discussion. Write your own blog–don’t expect to tag along on mine.
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What checks and balances are going to be effective with this kniving and dangerous character? In case you haven’t noticed by now, he’s curcumventing them all!
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On the last day of the year, I pause to take stock of the good and the bad that has been 2016. Politically, it has been an all time low for me as a voter. As you know, I voted for neither Trump or Clinton. The candidates themselves were indicative of what our country has become. I, too, am ashamed of the direction our country has chosen to go. That feeling, however, was there…way back in August, following the primaries. November 8th did little more than underscore the feeling of disgust I had when I realized that, in a nation of millions, these two miserable excuses for humans were the best the two major parties could offer up.
And that is sad.
To tie this into your post entitled, “The Observer Effect”, perhaps there needs to citizens willing to step-up and create or join political parties that are not affiliated with two-trick pony system we are now mired in, so that the American voter can find a candidate that does represent a higher ideal rather than simply having to settle for the lesser of two evils.
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