Let’s play nice

Fair warning, dear readers: This post is about … politics. So, if you’re up for it, that’s great. If not, then have another sugar cookie. Maybe take a stab at this later.

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Last week, for more than half of American voters, there was a collective sigh of relief heard around the world when the Electoral College met and cemented Joe Biden’s presidential election win.

Now, there’s just one more step before the 46^th president can be sworn in January 20. Congress, which is ultimately responsible for counting and certifying the electoral votes cast, will do so January 6.

Indeed, for me it will be a fitting end to the drama, since I’ve been waiting to exhale for quite some time. The stress of this political rollercoaster ride has clung to my gut like bad takeout.

It feels good to let go of some of that angst, making more room for my ever-increasing anxiety about the UK’s new strain of COVID-19.

“Just don’t get too comfortable,” my body says to my soul.

Comfort hasn’t been in the cards since June 2015.

As a lifelong Democrat, I actually felt my shoulders tighten on that fateful summer day when our soon-to-be former president announced his improbable candidacy. Seeing him descend that garish golden escalator to the basement of his New York Tower was surreal.

If only that had been the worst of it.

Looking back, that reality TV spectacle was the prophetic beginning of the end. He’s been dragging us down ever since.

That said, and with all due respect, our state and local officials should be proud. To my amazement, a record number of Americans voted in a presidential election during a pandemic – words I never expected to write in my lifetime, yet alone in 2020.

Republicans and Democrats alike surprised me with their choices: Hispanics for Trump. Rural Whites for Biden. Gays for Trump.

What a melting pot! The United States of America. You can believe and say whatever you like, as long as no one gets hurt. Yes, there is that caveat.

Remember 2016? Don’t forget what that felt like. Losing stinks. Winning is better. Ask Charlie Sheen.

Be humble. Be grateful. Be mindful.

As my favorite historian Jon Meacham said, “Decency and democracy were on the ballot [in 2020] – and they barely won. Our next question is how do we reach out to those 74 million people who voted in favor of four more years of this?”

This being lies, grifting and countless scandals. Astonishing.

But, as Mr. Meacham also said, “Division is part of the oxygen of democracy.”

So please don’t hold your breath like me.

As a white upper-middle-aged, progressive, gay woman, I’ll never understand why someone who checks off my identity boxes could vote for this. And it’s likely they’ll never understand me either.

Perhaps it’s simply time to agree to disagree. Acknowledge our differences. Respect each other’s opinions. Behave like grownups.

But I’m here to tell you, that’s a bunch of malarkey, as our president-elect is known to say, flashing a wide grin, his squinty eyes hidden behind a pair of iconic Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses. (And no, they were not made in 1937.)

In a time when circumstances call for understanding and compassion, many Americans have set aside their capacity to change their minds.

“Democracies depend on empathy. If we can’t see each other as neighbors, we’re not going to make it,” Meacham said. “If democracy were easy, more people would do it better.”

Indeed. (See Nazi Germany, Iraq and Venezuela.)

I hope those who disagree with me never know the fear of having your human rights challenged every time there is an election. And may they never know the pain of watching loved ones vote against your right to exist fully, equally and authentically.

Think about that the next time you have a conversation with someone who didn’t vote like you. Then, picture a world where we could all play nicely together, no matter what our instrument.

Time to move on, America. Open your hearts and minds.

Let’s begin our ascent. And this time, take the stairs.

(Photo credit: Author/illustrator Sandra Boynton, who said in a 2017 HuffPost interview: “I’m puzzled by the idea that I’m suddenly political. Ethics are not political. They’re ethics. And in these unsettled and unsettling times, silence is surely just as political as non-silence.”)