Non-Clarity

I’m writing this before the end of election day, so I don’t know how everything’s going, whether I’m thrilled or sobbing, or how everyone involved is spinning whatever we seem to know at the moment you’re reading this.

But I would suggest, during this period of non-clarity and potential tumult, that we all take a deep breath, that we remember what’s important (according to our own sense of morality, not just in terms of ballot box issues), and that we figure out what our next steps look like with those intrinsic values as our focus.

I think these sorts of moments can help clarify things following a period of “will it play in Peoria?”-style politicking. Many of us rearrange our priorities (for a time) based on campaign data and polls, and often based on “lesser of two evils” thinking, as well. That can mean setting aside (at least some of) what we actually think is important in support of politically relevant outcomes.

Consider returning to the bigger picture for a bit and recalibrating things accordingly.

Also, this is a good time to remember that whatever the outcome, there will be something like 100 million people (in the US, alone) who are incredibly disappointed, disillusioned, and feeling pretty dang bad (and/or angry) in the near-future, if not already. So let’s keep that in mind as we interact with each other: leading with kindness and understanding whenever possible, and aiming for non-malignancy as a baseline.

Again, I don’t know how things have turned out as I write this, so this may hit differently depending on how the dice land in the coming days.

But I’m already glad the whole jittery parade is over; I feel like US election season is expanding to encompass even more of the calendar, Christmas shopping season-like, and I don’t think that’s good for our collective sanity or discourse.

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