Put the blame squarely where it belongs: on the head of Mitch McConnell as the architect of our stacked SCOTUS and for failure to convict at the second impeachment trial.
Anne Carmel Coldren, I place it squarely on the head of President Gerald R. Ford. He could have not pardoned Nixon. His pardoning of Nixon was a flashing green light to gop corruption. No accountability, no justice, no belief by the majority of Americans that All are Equal Before the Law. 1/3 of Americans didn’t even bother voting for President. The other 1/3 would rather believe blatant lies if it entertains them or belittles people who believe in The Greater Good. We are left as a shell of New Deal America. We enter uncharted territory. Let us not ever forget there is opportunity for Good in chaos, as well as Bad. Let us recognize, grab, and build on the opportunities for Good that come by us. No one’s coming to save us. We must do this ourselves.
I watched a clip of VP Kama Harris swearing in the most recently elected senators. The clips focused on Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester, two Black women elected to the Senate. I thought what’s the point of having an oath of office if a holder is never prosecuted for violating it? Oaths of office are worthless.
This election has left me DEEPLY cynical. I look at people everywhere and wonder if they voted for 45 or if they even voted. Either way, they acted like this past election was an episode of Survivor with just as much impact on their lives. FAFO, people.
Thank you for expressing what so many of us feel. It is unbearable that 77 million people just said “January 6th was ok as long as he has an “R” after his name because I’m a conservative Republican” - I don’t get it. Half of American voters don’t believe that basic morality and ethics matter. I will never understand and I will never respect anyone who voted for this abomination.
There is no one size fits all. The particulars of "Fighting back" depend on what specifically happens and what we will be responding to. Sometimes that will mean protesting, sometimes it will mean engaging lawmakers, sometimes it will mean supporting marginalized people, sometimes it will mean giving time or money.
Ultimately, the most important thing is to collaborate locally: partner with organizations in your community who are already doing justice work. Since you can't respond to everything that is going to come your way with the coming Administration, choose a cause, issue, or people group (or two) you are particularly passionate about and connect where you are.
We all have two things: proximity to need and agency to alleviate it. The how is up to each of us to figure out.
I think one of the most important ways to fight back is to promote the Truth and call out everyone you can who spreads lies and misinformation. This especially true today to preserve and spread the truth about Jan. 6 2021. Everyone should download the Jan. 6 committee final report and preserve it on their computer/devices, securely in the cloud,
Absolutely horrifying I can’t even look at my neighbors who had trump signs in their front yards I can only believe two things ignorance and living in a media bubble is one option the other that there is real evil in the people surrounding us, maybe a bit of both
We bought our house on a cul-de-sac 3 years ago. I did an online search of every person on the cul-de-sac prior to making an offer on the house, particularly how they were registered to vote. Thankfully, we have wonderful neighbors and a mostly wonderful neighborhood of kind and generous people-a huge blessing in these tumultuous times.
Unfortunately, there is one very vocal "dumpster" supporter on the street, just outside of our cul-de-sac. Today, we had a snowstorm. One of my wonderful neighbors, who lives across the street from the dumpster supporter, plowed everyone's driveways, walkways and the sidewalks in front of our homes. When I walked my dog this morning I felt a quiet delight seeing that the sidewalk in front of the dumpster's property, as well as his driveway, were the only places left uncleared.
After days of depression followed by more anger than I thought I had in me, I worked my way through to acceptance. Today, I worry about oppressed individuals and groups who will probably experience more abuse than before. The nation is at a distinct low. Fighting, crying, and storming will only make matters worse. We are left with a situation in which we must demonstrate courage by being authentic, telling the truth, and striving to promote unity. Hating only generates more hate.
Well said. I was and still am heartbroken. Yet, I know in my heart of hearts that love, not hate, is the answer. I believe, the Father of all lies, the deceiver and adversary, is abroad in the land. His objective is to divide us and to fill our hearts with hate and evil. We can't fight evil with hate. We must find oases of decency and goodness. I plan to help those who are oppressed in some way within my sphere of influence.
Cindy, Thank you for responding. Doing what we can to help the oppressed is the best way to help our nation. Hating will not get us anywhere hopeful. This evening, my husband and I helped serve food to homeless people who had come to our church to get out of the cold. On the way home, we discussed the possibility that those in power for the next four years may not care about hungry people living on our streets. Somehow, we must all find additional ways to help. I confess that anything I can do seems small and insignificant. Yet, we can't give up.
Bonnie, being kind to everyone is the finest way of all to serve the nation and to help oppressed, discouraged people. You are definitely on the right track. Good for you.
I too thought J6 2020 would be a defining moment for humanity in the USA. It was, but not in the way I had hoped. I remember thinking the same on 12/14/2014 when 20 kindergarten children and six of their teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook. I thought finally, 'they will see. This madness with guns will stop." Instead we doubled down, and doubled down again.
We are not the country I thought we were.
As much as I blame Trump and his ignorant MAGATS, the democrats have a great deal to answer for. Our party - once the party of the "working man" (or woman) has become out of touch and elitist. I respect President Biden tremendously but he should have been what he said he would be in 2020 - a "transitional president" instead of running again with clearly diminished energy and faculties.
Planning should have begun publicly in 2022 for his successor, instead of giving VP Harris a 3 month window to campaign, and do so ineffectively. She preached to the choir instead of going after the 60 million non voters and those who would have been receptive to communication instead of propaganda had she accessed the correct channels of communication.
She raised ONE BILLION DOLLARS on her first day of campaigning, $4.7B more in the next months. There was so much she could have done with those funds, instead, she held "joyful" rallies to those who were going to vote for her anyway, and sent people like me (a registered democrat) 20 texts and emails a day asking for yet more funds instead of addressing the audience who needed to hear her message. She went to "friendly" outlets instead. She created a 24/7 echo chamber. Meanwhile, Trump harnessed the power of xenophobia and fear.
As an American Jew, I am frustrated and angry with the Democratic Party and its empty rhetoric about Israel - it "has the right to DEFEND itself." Nothing more. Which means Israel cannot be at war. It can fight only when attacked, then an immediate cease fire must occur. Biden and Harris's tepid and confused response to 10/7 and the then ensuing college campus protests was underwhelming. It is indeed a sad day when Trump is seen as more Pro-Israel than a democratic president and the strongest voice speaking to the administrators of these bastions of education who couldn't decide if calling for the deaths of their Jewish students constituted hate speech or not came from Trump toady Elise Stefanik, who correctly placed the responsibility of the riots on these antisemitic officials, who advised their Jewish students to hide in their dorms instead of protecting them from campus hatred.
The Fourth Estate is a Trump ally. It normalized and sane washed him. We cannot depend upon them for factual reporting. Democracy died in broad daylight (WAPO) with Jeff Besoz, a typical cowardly billionaire at its helm.
The SCOTUS is a Trump ally.
Aileen Cannon is a Trump ally.
Sadly, Merrick Garland ended his tenure as a Trump ally despite vowing to represent something larger, and he is biggest disappointment of all.
There are so much I can (accurately) blame Trump for, but it was Harris's job to disprove his lies and she did not. There was so much she could have stood for, but her message did not get to the people who needed to hear it. She refused to go to the larger public, to MAGA, to sane republicans. Her common sense would have (but did not) cancel out Trump's lies.
The democrats have to understand that this no longer just a political party they (we) are up against. This is NOT politics as usual. This a A CULT OF THINKING. The DNC needs to have on staff, people educated in this psychology of thinking and how to combat this. The GOP is now the GQP. THAT is the lesson of J6 2020. One half of us drank the kool aid. We need to find out why and how to deal with it effectively going forward.
Well written Judith! I agree. During the entire election cycle this time, I kept asking myself why the Democratic leaders didn't ask people like me, who are senior citizens and registered Democrats who lean centrist, what we thought. I, too, was getting tired of all the rallies in echo chambers, the constant texts asking for even more money, the harping on trans people's rights (yes they should have them but don't shove such a new and difficult concept for more conservative people to accept down their throats). Why weren't they out among the blue-collar workers asking them what they needed and what would be an ideal situation for them? What about respectfully and humbly asking the farmers and ranchers what it would take to gain their trust and support? Why didn't they at least attempt to saturate the media with their accomplishments and in plain language how they were helping people? And the border-why did it take so long to get more control and when they did, why didn't we hear much about it? I live in Arizona and was there at the border after the wall (which I hate because there are better solutions that aren't so ugly) and before the Biden Administration had done anything serious, and it was a mess.
Thank you for saying that the Democratic leadership has really failed us: Biden not stepping down after 1 term, harping on the campaign re trans children getting support for surgery! When I was a teenager, I hadn’t even met my true self yet.
Actually it was the right that made trans an issue despite it really actually affecting a literal handful of people. It was blown up to a ridiculous proportion using fear as propaganda. You would have thought that your son or daughter would be whisked away any second for sex altering surgery. It was the Dems fault for not addressing this head on - this is a medical/psychological issue and not a fear mongering political rabbit hole to go down. Again, a CLEAR position about supporting trans rights doesn’t mean everyone is trans who has sexual confusion - which would encompass a lot of people. No sex altering surgery until the person comes of age and then move on to issues that actually affect 330 billion people instead of few million actual trans people. Sexuality is still a huge bugaboo for the right - so all LGBT cross dressing whatever became a #1 issue when it shouldn’t have been.
You are not alone. There were also 77 million folks who agreed with you. And perhaps 93 million folks who were so lazy that they didn’t vote. Or so stupid that they failed the rest of us by ignoring their patriotic duty.
Reading this essay brings it all back, once again to the forefront, all my rage, not just anger but steaming rage, the same as I felt as I watched it unfold on TV as it happened. I will NEVER EVER forgive anyone who voted for that traitor, including members of my own family. It’s the same as if we were on opposite sides of the Civil War or WW II. There is no forgiveness; they are dead to me.
The 77 million trump voters are willing co-conspirators in sedition to the U.S. Constitution, devoid of logic and lacking a soul. The singular gift of this tyrant is to subvert the humanity of his victims by disconnecting their thought process with his deceitful droning, and to replace it with an atavistic fight or flight response to a projected enemy, by employing hatred, fear, rage which ultimately results in mass suffering and death. Trump has even declared this effect with pride,
"I bring rage out. I always have". He needs to be stuffed in a hole from where rage can't come out. We reasoned souls have our work cut out.
I am still so heartbroken. I don't expect to be over the sadness of this ever. We will all continue to musdle through, however we must. My love and my prayers are for all who are dealing with this through notebook of their own. I do not wish bad or harm to those who have sided with this effort, But I still have not found a reason to interact with them again. I don't think they've noticed. I just don't want to be around them. Just looking at them makes me sad and somewhat angry. I don't want to be angry and sad, swing listening to my heart instead of my head this time around. My head makes excuses for how they didn't understand, or how they thought they were defending unborn babies, or some other excuse like the price of eggs. But my heart says stay away from what is ugly and selfish. I am more at peace away from them. The only sadness in that, to me, is that instead of growing my circle ever wider as I have my entire life, now I am separating the wheat from the chaffe.
I remember being slack-jawed and gobsmacked as I watched the attack on the Capitol. I marveled at McConnell's cowardice in voting "not guilty" at the Senate trial. I'll be 70 in April. I'm grateful for nearly seven decades of living in a somewhat functional democracy. I'm devastated for my two adult children and one son-in-law. I grieve at the inherent racism that I believe kept Americans from supporting a Black woman for the presidency. America is lost. I hope she finds her way soon!
Put the blame squarely where it belongs: on the head of Mitch McConnell as the architect of our stacked SCOTUS and for failure to convict at the second impeachment trial.
You’re absolutely correct. A guilty verdict would have prevented any chance at his re-election.
Anne Carmel Coldren, I place it squarely on the head of President Gerald R. Ford. He could have not pardoned Nixon. His pardoning of Nixon was a flashing green light to gop corruption. No accountability, no justice, no belief by the majority of Americans that All are Equal Before the Law. 1/3 of Americans didn’t even bother voting for President. The other 1/3 would rather believe blatant lies if it entertains them or belittles people who believe in The Greater Good. We are left as a shell of New Deal America. We enter uncharted territory. Let us not ever forget there is opportunity for Good in chaos, as well as Bad. Let us recognize, grab, and build on the opportunities for Good that come by us. No one’s coming to save us. We must do this ourselves.
Definitely. And Merrick Garland.
Let's see if the turtle will rubber stamp all the appointees and cement his legacy as a total enabler.
He's a mere participant. Let's see what Senate Leader John Thune will do.
Also, Merrick Garland, who waited far too long to appoint Jack Smith. Smith is the true hero and patriot.
This breaks my heart, and I don’t know if I will ever get over it.
I am right there with you…and I am so afraid for our country, my children and grandchildren…I feel dark days are descending on all of us.
I watched a clip of VP Kama Harris swearing in the most recently elected senators. The clips focused on Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester, two Black women elected to the Senate. I thought what’s the point of having an oath of office if a holder is never prosecuted for violating it? Oaths of office are worthless.
This election has left me DEEPLY cynical. I look at people everywhere and wonder if they voted for 45 or if they even voted. Either way, they acted like this past election was an episode of Survivor with just as much impact on their lives. FAFO, people.
Thank you for expressing what so many of us feel. It is unbearable that 77 million people just said “January 6th was ok as long as he has an “R” after his name because I’m a conservative Republican” - I don’t get it. Half of American voters don’t believe that basic morality and ethics matter. I will never understand and I will never respect anyone who voted for this abomination.
Yes, Trump won almost half of Americans who voted but 1/3 of eligible voters stayed home. That is the real tragedy.
How sad this has become!
I’m wondering who is going to step up and tell us how to fight back? As an ordinary citizen I feel helpless.
Hi Lynne,
There is no one size fits all. The particulars of "Fighting back" depend on what specifically happens and what we will be responding to. Sometimes that will mean protesting, sometimes it will mean engaging lawmakers, sometimes it will mean supporting marginalized people, sometimes it will mean giving time or money.
Ultimately, the most important thing is to collaborate locally: partner with organizations in your community who are already doing justice work. Since you can't respond to everything that is going to come your way with the coming Administration, choose a cause, issue, or people group (or two) you are particularly passionate about and connect where you are.
We all have two things: proximity to need and agency to alleviate it. The how is up to each of us to figure out.
THANK YOU!
I needed this advice. Thank you.
I think one of the most important ways to fight back is to promote the Truth and call out everyone you can who spreads lies and misinformation. This especially true today to preserve and spread the truth about Jan. 6 2021. Everyone should download the Jan. 6 committee final report and preserve it on their computer/devices, securely in the cloud,
Absolutely horrifying I can’t even look at my neighbors who had trump signs in their front yards I can only believe two things ignorance and living in a media bubble is one option the other that there is real evil in the people surrounding us, maybe a bit of both
We bought our house on a cul-de-sac 3 years ago. I did an online search of every person on the cul-de-sac prior to making an offer on the house, particularly how they were registered to vote. Thankfully, we have wonderful neighbors and a mostly wonderful neighborhood of kind and generous people-a huge blessing in these tumultuous times.
Unfortunately, there is one very vocal "dumpster" supporter on the street, just outside of our cul-de-sac. Today, we had a snowstorm. One of my wonderful neighbors, who lives across the street from the dumpster supporter, plowed everyone's driveways, walkways and the sidewalks in front of our homes. When I walked my dog this morning I felt a quiet delight seeing that the sidewalk in front of the dumpster's property, as well as his driveway, were the only places left uncleared.
After days of depression followed by more anger than I thought I had in me, I worked my way through to acceptance. Today, I worry about oppressed individuals and groups who will probably experience more abuse than before. The nation is at a distinct low. Fighting, crying, and storming will only make matters worse. We are left with a situation in which we must demonstrate courage by being authentic, telling the truth, and striving to promote unity. Hating only generates more hate.
Well said. I was and still am heartbroken. Yet, I know in my heart of hearts that love, not hate, is the answer. I believe, the Father of all lies, the deceiver and adversary, is abroad in the land. His objective is to divide us and to fill our hearts with hate and evil. We can't fight evil with hate. We must find oases of decency and goodness. I plan to help those who are oppressed in some way within my sphere of influence.
Cindy, Thank you for responding. Doing what we can to help the oppressed is the best way to help our nation. Hating will not get us anywhere hopeful. This evening, my husband and I helped serve food to homeless people who had come to our church to get out of the cold. On the way home, we discussed the possibility that those in power for the next four years may not care about hungry people living on our streets. Somehow, we must all find additional ways to help. I confess that anything I can do seems small and insignificant. Yet, we can't give up.
I’m fighting back by trying my best to be kind to everyone, until God shows me what else I can do.
Bonnie, being kind to everyone is the finest way of all to serve the nation and to help oppressed, discouraged people. You are definitely on the right track. Good for you.
Barbara, thank you so much.
Thank you for saying it all. We must fight on.
I too thought J6 2020 would be a defining moment for humanity in the USA. It was, but not in the way I had hoped. I remember thinking the same on 12/14/2014 when 20 kindergarten children and six of their teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook. I thought finally, 'they will see. This madness with guns will stop." Instead we doubled down, and doubled down again.
We are not the country I thought we were.
As much as I blame Trump and his ignorant MAGATS, the democrats have a great deal to answer for. Our party - once the party of the "working man" (or woman) has become out of touch and elitist. I respect President Biden tremendously but he should have been what he said he would be in 2020 - a "transitional president" instead of running again with clearly diminished energy and faculties.
Planning should have begun publicly in 2022 for his successor, instead of giving VP Harris a 3 month window to campaign, and do so ineffectively. She preached to the choir instead of going after the 60 million non voters and those who would have been receptive to communication instead of propaganda had she accessed the correct channels of communication.
She raised ONE BILLION DOLLARS on her first day of campaigning, $4.7B more in the next months. There was so much she could have done with those funds, instead, she held "joyful" rallies to those who were going to vote for her anyway, and sent people like me (a registered democrat) 20 texts and emails a day asking for yet more funds instead of addressing the audience who needed to hear her message. She went to "friendly" outlets instead. She created a 24/7 echo chamber. Meanwhile, Trump harnessed the power of xenophobia and fear.
As an American Jew, I am frustrated and angry with the Democratic Party and its empty rhetoric about Israel - it "has the right to DEFEND itself." Nothing more. Which means Israel cannot be at war. It can fight only when attacked, then an immediate cease fire must occur. Biden and Harris's tepid and confused response to 10/7 and the then ensuing college campus protests was underwhelming. It is indeed a sad day when Trump is seen as more Pro-Israel than a democratic president and the strongest voice speaking to the administrators of these bastions of education who couldn't decide if calling for the deaths of their Jewish students constituted hate speech or not came from Trump toady Elise Stefanik, who correctly placed the responsibility of the riots on these antisemitic officials, who advised their Jewish students to hide in their dorms instead of protecting them from campus hatred.
The Fourth Estate is a Trump ally. It normalized and sane washed him. We cannot depend upon them for factual reporting. Democracy died in broad daylight (WAPO) with Jeff Besoz, a typical cowardly billionaire at its helm.
The SCOTUS is a Trump ally.
Aileen Cannon is a Trump ally.
Sadly, Merrick Garland ended his tenure as a Trump ally despite vowing to represent something larger, and he is biggest disappointment of all.
There are so much I can (accurately) blame Trump for, but it was Harris's job to disprove his lies and she did not. There was so much she could have stood for, but her message did not get to the people who needed to hear it. She refused to go to the larger public, to MAGA, to sane republicans. Her common sense would have (but did not) cancel out Trump's lies.
The democrats have to understand that this no longer just a political party they (we) are up against. This is NOT politics as usual. This a A CULT OF THINKING. The DNC needs to have on staff, people educated in this psychology of thinking and how to combat this. The GOP is now the GQP. THAT is the lesson of J6 2020. One half of us drank the kool aid. We need to find out why and how to deal with it effectively going forward.
Well written Judith! I agree. During the entire election cycle this time, I kept asking myself why the Democratic leaders didn't ask people like me, who are senior citizens and registered Democrats who lean centrist, what we thought. I, too, was getting tired of all the rallies in echo chambers, the constant texts asking for even more money, the harping on trans people's rights (yes they should have them but don't shove such a new and difficult concept for more conservative people to accept down their throats). Why weren't they out among the blue-collar workers asking them what they needed and what would be an ideal situation for them? What about respectfully and humbly asking the farmers and ranchers what it would take to gain their trust and support? Why didn't they at least attempt to saturate the media with their accomplishments and in plain language how they were helping people? And the border-why did it take so long to get more control and when they did, why didn't we hear much about it? I live in Arizona and was there at the border after the wall (which I hate because there are better solutions that aren't so ugly) and before the Biden Administration had done anything serious, and it was a mess.
Thank you for saying that the Democratic leadership has really failed us: Biden not stepping down after 1 term, harping on the campaign re trans children getting support for surgery! When I was a teenager, I hadn’t even met my true self yet.
Actually it was the right that made trans an issue despite it really actually affecting a literal handful of people. It was blown up to a ridiculous proportion using fear as propaganda. You would have thought that your son or daughter would be whisked away any second for sex altering surgery. It was the Dems fault for not addressing this head on - this is a medical/psychological issue and not a fear mongering political rabbit hole to go down. Again, a CLEAR position about supporting trans rights doesn’t mean everyone is trans who has sexual confusion - which would encompass a lot of people. No sex altering surgery until the person comes of age and then move on to issues that actually affect 330 billion people instead of few million actual trans people. Sexuality is still a huge bugaboo for the right - so all LGBT cross dressing whatever became a #1 issue when it shouldn’t have been.
You are not alone. There were also 77 million folks who agreed with you. And perhaps 93 million folks who were so lazy that they didn’t vote. Or so stupid that they failed the rest of us by ignoring their patriotic duty.
Reading this essay brings it all back, once again to the forefront, all my rage, not just anger but steaming rage, the same as I felt as I watched it unfold on TV as it happened. I will NEVER EVER forgive anyone who voted for that traitor, including members of my own family. It’s the same as if we were on opposite sides of the Civil War or WW II. There is no forgiveness; they are dead to me.
I don't actually love what you have to say there. But I'm with you. I can't be around them either.
So sad 😞. However, there are some rays of light in the darkness. Remember - “this too shall pass”
At what expense to pur democracy is the question
You put into words what many of us are thinking. Thank you for expressing truth in what we know will be a dark time.
“Read it and weep”, So it’s said.
I did and I am. Having a moment.💔😭😞😖🥺😩😔🤨😟😫💙
Higs
The 77 million trump voters are willing co-conspirators in sedition to the U.S. Constitution, devoid of logic and lacking a soul. The singular gift of this tyrant is to subvert the humanity of his victims by disconnecting their thought process with his deceitful droning, and to replace it with an atavistic fight or flight response to a projected enemy, by employing hatred, fear, rage which ultimately results in mass suffering and death. Trump has even declared this effect with pride,
"I bring rage out. I always have". He needs to be stuffed in a hole from where rage can't come out. We reasoned souls have our work cut out.
I am still so heartbroken. I don't expect to be over the sadness of this ever. We will all continue to musdle through, however we must. My love and my prayers are for all who are dealing with this through notebook of their own. I do not wish bad or harm to those who have sided with this effort, But I still have not found a reason to interact with them again. I don't think they've noticed. I just don't want to be around them. Just looking at them makes me sad and somewhat angry. I don't want to be angry and sad, swing listening to my heart instead of my head this time around. My head makes excuses for how they didn't understand, or how they thought they were defending unborn babies, or some other excuse like the price of eggs. But my heart says stay away from what is ugly and selfish. I am more at peace away from them. The only sadness in that, to me, is that instead of growing my circle ever wider as I have my entire life, now I am separating the wheat from the chaffe.
I remember being slack-jawed and gobsmacked as I watched the attack on the Capitol. I marveled at McConnell's cowardice in voting "not guilty" at the Senate trial. I'll be 70 in April. I'm grateful for nearly seven decades of living in a somewhat functional democracy. I'm devastated for my two adult children and one son-in-law. I grieve at the inherent racism that I believe kept Americans from supporting a Black woman for the presidency. America is lost. I hope she finds her way soon!