The first time I won the Listserve, I wrote about the Deep South being the last frontier for LGBT equality in the US. Now I’m afraid that we are not only regressing to old attitudes and policies towards society’s vulnerable, but entering into a time of unrecognizable hate, evil, and violence. Worldwide.
We’re in a holding pattern now until January 20th. Violence and rhetoric are up, but wait-and-seers and resisters alike have not experienced Donald Trump behind the Presidential Seal.
As of this writing the call for a recount is bubbling up. Who knows, maybe a Hillary Clinton resurgence is in order. But I am not a wait-and-seer. I’m stirred to resist. I hope you are too. We can look to history and learn about what’s brewing, and we can look to history and learn about those who resisted.
Ultimately this is brand new and unpredictable, and so our resistance must be, too. Remember that in times like these revolutionary love and art rise up. After all, “worrying is like praying for what you don’t want.” Don't worry! The election may be over but the vote is still out. Not at your polling place, but in your community. You can still cast your vote for how you want the world to be. Speak out, be heard, make new friends.
No matter the darkness, no matter the hate, I believe we are all endowed with simple, lighthearted purity. Once a day I turn focus inward and remind myself of this with a popular Hebrew adage. Elohai neshama shenatata bi, t’horah hi. My God, the soul you have placed in me: it. is. pure.
Noah Westreich
Washington, DC
(but written in Minneapolis, Minnesota)
[email protected]