A Sweet Calming Wave

Tomorrow morning I will wake up at 6am and it will be 5pm on the East Coast of The United States of America, or maybe it will be 7pm, I hate timezones; either way it will be evening and there will be piles and piles of election results for me to sift through on my tiny phone screen as I sit in bed in the darkness holding my breath, hoping that America proved that is the hopeful place I know it can be, and not the ignorant cesspool of hatred that I have seen it to be.


So much has already been written about this election, that I feel inadequate to add anything useful to the conversations at this late stage of the game. We have all drawn up sides and there is no convincing anyone otherwise.


I wish it were different.


I wish that we had subtle nuanced political discourse that allowed our diverse electorate a chance to vote on candidates that resented their needs and interests, but we are beholden to a reality TV style election, that let’s be honest- we might just deserve.


We are all in safely hunkered down in our insulated bubbles casting out jabs and punches and slings and arrows. We hurl quotes and share videos from Samantha Bee and Ann Coulter. Seth Meyer and Rudy Guiliani. It’s an interactive circus run by demented clowns. We are all nervous and punchy and dangerous.


We are all hopeful that somehow tomorrow, that when our side wins, it will all be over and we can go back to caring about….what was it that we cared about again?


But the scariest part is that this is not going to end tomorrow. This wound will bleed for years to come and the scar will leave a mark. Actually what we are experiencing is the same wound, reopened from the Civil War. But having said that...


I am hopeful that Hillary will win in a landslide.


I am an optimist. I believe in humanity and decency. I believe there are more people in American who side with love than hatred. I believe in progress and healing and evolution.


I believe that while it is easy to pick on our simplicity and backwardness that there are more Americans that believe we are ready for a woman president, that immigrants are not the cause of our problems, that Muslims worldwide suffer from terrorism more than we do, that people of the LGBTQ communities are intertwined in all of our communities, that women should have the right to choose what to do with their reproductive rights, that we need to look at structural racism. I believe that beyond the smoke screens and propaganda, that deep in our hearts Americans know that #blacklivesmatter and that climate change is real.


We believe in peace, liberty and justice for all.


I believe that if you take Americans from rural Alabama and put them in a room with people from inner-city Ferguson that they will find common ground. That all we need is to look past the rhetoric and lies and politics and media and into our hearts to know what is the right thing to do. I believe that there are still enough people in America who believe in America to make the promise real. And I believe that they will come out on election day and be heard.


At it’s simplest to be an optimist means that you must to believe in love.


I have to believe these things, because I am not sure I can go to work tomorrow if the results I see on my phone in the darkness at 6am show Trump winning or anywhere near a close call.


A Hillary win will not solve our problems. And while I will freely admit that I have been swayed by her slick propaganda machine, I nearly cried showing my daughters her final video tonight, I do know that at this stage in our countries lives, progressives need to feel that at least we haven't moved further right. That we are not a nation of racists and bigots.


The woman we elect will not be the champion of the left that we deserve, but at least her lies are closer to our truths than his. Her victory we will be a weak mandate for liberals and in any election year that is better than any mandate for ultra-right lunacy.


Everyday at lunch, I talk about this election with my non-American colleagues and none of us get it. How can you explain Trumpism to anyone with a head or a heart.


Here’s to hoping that tomorrow as I am sitting through a million hours of parent-teacher conferences and checking in on the stats, that I see each state turn blue- one after the other like a sweet calming wave cleansing our nation and preparing us for the work ahead.

Debates

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” That’s a quote from Hunter S. Thompson, and I only wish that he was still with us to witness the debacle we are calling the GOP candidate of the president of the United States.


I had a pretty long day. Played some leadership whack-a-mole, taught some classes, and then led a MS literary night for parents causing me to stay at school for 12+ hours. Then after a celebratory glass of wine I headed to meet some friends and spend some time with an old boss/mentor/friend.


I have been waiting to watch the debates all day and rather than just crawl into bed at 10:48. I am going to watch them in full and “not-so-live tweet them.”


Buy the ticket. Enjoy the right:


Lester Holt is pretending like this is all very normal and that everyone is equal. Does anyone actually believe this? Or are we are clear that one candidate is a seasoned states person and the other is well for lack of a a better phrase a total, “piece of shit?”


Point Hillary- the red pant suit is a power move that screams Chairman Mao, but also the human cheeto, I’m gonna eat you alive.


Nice to see the eagle getting top bill, perched over the Bill of Rights or Declaration of Independence or The Constitution or whatever other sacred document is draped behind them.


Hillary- Raise minimum wage- shout out to Bernie for pushing that issue. Equal pay for women. Yes please. Family leave. Earned sick days. Wealthy pay fair share.


Trump- Mexico. China. Fleeing. Fight. Winning. China. Piggy bank. Losing good jobs. Mexico. How does someone in the wealthy class “stop jobs from leaving.” Sniff.


Hillary- Zing- trump is a rich asshole and he just wants to reward rich assholes.


Trump- Sniff. Mexico. China. Sniff. Nafta.


Lester- How do you bring the jobs back?


Trump- Don’t let them leave. Sniff. Sniff. NAFTA is teh worst thing ever.


Hillary- Grin. That is just not accurate.


Trump- Interrupt. Interrupt. Interrupt. Interrupt


Hillary- I know you live in your own reality.


Trump- You have no PLAN!!!


Hillary- I actually wrote a book about it. You can pick it up at the airport.


Trump- Yell. Stomp. Stomp. You are a poo poo face and I hate you.


Hillary- Just join the debate by saying any crazy things.


Trump- The fed is doing political. More police. Stop and frisk. I have property there We need Law and Order.


Hillary- We have to address the system racism in our criminal justice system.


Trump- NRA. Good people. Endorsement.


…….side note- this is like torture……..


Trump- I say nothing. I say nothing.


Hillary- Just listen to what you heard.


Trump- That is the way I feel. That is the true way I feel.


Trump- THE CYBER. We came in with the internet. We came up with the internet. My son is good with computers.


Hillary- I took out Bin Laden. Boom Snap!


Trump- Take the oil. They have the oil all over the place.


Trump- Nato already does what I say. Believe me. Believe me. Sean Hannity. Sean Hannity. Sean Hannity. Sean Hannity. Sean Hannity. Call him. Nobody calls Sean Hannity.


Hillary- Wooh. Okay. Big smile.


Trump- Wroooong. Lies. Wrong.


Trump- Incoherent gibberish….Iran, deals, Yemen, …….


Hillary- Words matter. We need to precise about how we talk about issues. I intend to be a leader who people can look up to and trust.


Trump- We are losing. We are losing. She doesn’t have the stamina. Stamina. Stamina (read penis)


Trump- Rosie O’Donell deserves and no one feels sorry for her. Hillary running ads on me and she is not nice.


Hillary- This is election is about you. So get out and vote. Your future depends on it.

Off This Funk

Can’t seem to fight off this funk today. I only have two reports left to write and the inputting of grades, so that should be manageable tomorrow night and before the weekend. Although we still have another two weeks of school, the end is near and things are wrapping up. So what is it?


I was a bit bummed I couldn’t skate tonight. The conditions were perfect and it was a tease to be there and just watch, but my tendons are still tender and I do not want to risk serious injury before the summer. Maybe I will give it a spin on Sunday. The pain is now isolated just in my wrist and it is almost gone.


There are two factors that have me down today:


1- The Brock Turner case. I can’t seem to shake how awful the whole thing is. I continue to read comments and posts and try to find something rational to say about solutions and what happens next, but I am left with anger and disgust. I still do not have the energy to really capture my thoughts.


In the meantime, there are several articles by people who are getting it right. I guess my main issue is that we need to find way to address privilege and rape culture more aggressively. This behavior cannot be accepted as part of what it means to be a man or what it mans to be in college.


This is criminal.


But the other side that is bugging me is how do we handle crime? How do we met out justice? Would sending Tucker to prison for six years deter rape? Would it teach him a lesson? Would it end rape culture? Is punishment the end result of crime? Is this justice? Do we have a responsibility to teach and rehabilitate? Can we ever teach men that women are not there for our amusement and abuse? When men act as criminals and rape…is there any hope? Do we just lock them up? I feel we need a new approach and it starts like all things in schools and ends with....well I don't know. But I don't think punishment always equates with justice. Prisons will not end crime...schools will.


I am filled with questions and anger.


2. The other thing that has me down is Hillary. I just can’t get myself excited. Sure it is historical that we have a woman nominee, but that doesn’t seem to be enough-she is a center right corporate sponsored hawk. This is status quo America and I was hoping for more. I have never been a fan of the DNC- not with Bill or even Obama, and Hillary is more right-wing than either of those guys. It was so nice to have a politician at least pay lip-service to my ultra-left progressive voice.


I don’t actually live the US, so I don’t have a horse in this race, but I will find it very difficult to get behind Clinton and when/if I ever do, it will feel dirty and shameful, so I actually hope that I don’t.


I do understand that American politics has got to be more than presidential elections. It is clear that we are still a long way from having a viable third-party. The DNC will see to that. We will continue to be distracted by the crazy right-wing dupes and the lesser of two evils.


It appears that in presidential politic, the left has little to no voice. The Bernie Sanders sound bites and primary campaign will be the closest we get to being heard by our government…..unless of course this new movement, this revolution keeps Hillary honest and forces the DNC to move left at the state and local levels.


We need young politicians and union leaders and city council people to push the progressive agenda from the ground up. America will never have a truly progressive president, corporate America and their candidate have made that clear.


Who knows, maybe I need to move back home, roll up my sleeves and fight the good fight, instead of whining and complaining from my privileged seat overseas.


The world has got me down tonight. I understand that some of you are excited about the new Democratic nominee for president, and I hope she is what you want her to be, but we have been here before many times and she, despite her gender, is nothing new. She will pick apart the nation just like her husband did so many years ago. Of course she is better than Trump, but you can say that about a cockroach.


Tomorrow is Thursday. It is June and a new day. I will be ready for it as always.