...the front page of today's paper.
Last night, Terence came over with Sprite, Bevan made cheese ravioli and fake chicken nuggets, and the three of us—plus Ellie—watched the election coverage.
We were all hopeful going in, but cautiously so—we'd been burned by the polls too many times before. But as the night wore on and it became clear that a shift was happening, I found myself starting to hope that the era we've been living in might actually be ending.
These last 10 years have been trying, to say the least. No, not trying, they've been dark—hopeless, at times. There are fractures in my family that will never be repaired, long-standing friendships obliterated, and places I once loved to visit where I now feel less welcome.
But I'm hopeful today, for the first time in far too long.
Hopeful for an end to the wars, for a real push toward climate justice, for lasting healthcare reform, for restored protections for the vulnerable, for a quieting of anti-science rhetoric, and for so much more.
I'm not gloating—far from it. In fact, I'm not even really celebrating yet—I'm just acknowledging that, right now, a new beginning feels possible...
...and I'm hopeful that it began last night.
A few more things on my mind:
Who's excited for the fundraising texts, calls, political emails, and flyers in their mailboxes to stop? Honestly, why is that not illegal? And what a waste of paper! (Does this happen in other countries?)
There were so many incredible firsts last night! While I'm still waiting to see the final, certified calls for several groundbreaking races, let's list some of the milestones:
- First Black woman elected governor (GA)
- First Native American woman governor (NM)
- First Native American woman elected to the Senate (MN)
- First Muslim senator (MI)
- First openly gay man elected to the Senate (NH)
- First Black governor (WI)
- First Latina governor (TX)
These firsts are some of my favorite results. But also: about. fucking. time. On the flip side, going forward, next to the headshots of other elected officials can we note, "the 6,393rd straight white male elected to BLANK"? Or the "4,325th Ivy League graduate"? Or the "95,492nd wealthy nepo baby born into an influential family"? Maybe then we'd try new things more often.
A friend called me from Texas this morning, elated about last night's results. She said that for the first time in as long as she can remember, she'd spent the morning online not doomscrolling, but doing just the opposite: hope-scrolling. I love that so much.
Okay, enough outta me today...I'm just happy to be hopeful.
(Web hug.)
Corey
P.S. I had planned on this being my main post for today, but then something strange and shitty happened and I wanted to get my thoughts about it down right away.
(Thank you to angrybunnyman for this collection of firsts, easily gathered and cited here.)