THE NIGHT BEFORE...

 I don't really know what to say here.  It just seems like some thoughts, however confused and incomplete, should mark this occasion.  Tomorrow is Election Day.  But really we have been participating in an "election season" for weeks.  Tomorrow is merely the last voting day, not the first or only one.

Many states have done early voting for years either in person or by absentee ballot. Our state has been a vote-by-mail state since 2011; we receive our ballots about two weeks before election day and can vote up to midnight (postmarked or dropped at Dropbox) on Election Day. This year with the pandemic raging many more states have gone to vote by mail, some for the first time.  There are various new rules in place about when the ballots must be returned: some postmarked by election day and some returned by election day.  

Voter suppression tactics are rampant.  

Republican party bosses are taking counties and states to court to try to curb counting some ballots they deem 'late' or in defiance of some silly rule.  For example, even a Republican-appointed judge in Texas ruled that they cannot throw out nearly 130,000 ballots they say were returned inappropriately at a drive through dropbox location, which had previously been approved.  The Republicans then took the case to appeal at a Federal District Court where the conservative judge also ruled against them.  These lawsuits are frivolous and meant to slow the process down and sew seeds of doubt in the election process.

Tactics like these are happening especially in swing states and in areas where there is a majority people of color -- those who typically vote Democratic.  Closing polling places is also a favorite gambit -- creating geographical and time barriers to voting.  Voters must stand in long, long (6, 8, 10, 12 hour) lines to cast a ballot at the one remaining polling place.  Famously, an Administration hack was appointed Post Master General recently and he immediately dismantled sorting machines in certain post offices and removed street corner mailboxes as well.  He declared no more overtime to get mail delivered on time and the mail delivery has slowed to a crawl in some areas of the country to thwart mail-in voting.  

All of this and so, so much more is providing a greater, not lesser,  motivation for folks to be sure to vote, to be sure nothing stops anyone from casting their ballot, to be sure not to wait until election day to have their say.  Nearly 100 million people have already voted!  This is nearly 2/3 of the total vote in 2016.  We don't know what this means for the outcome, of course, but it bodes well we think, and at least demonstrates the determination of voters this year.  Why? 

The past four years have been a nightmare of chaos at the top levels of our government.  Norms, laws, values, traditions have been denigrated and turned on their heads.  Hate speech, name calling, lying, deception, gas-lighting, and corruption have been daily occurrences.  Americans are divided by ideology, culture, and deep dislike for one another (not to mention the casual and overtly intentional acting upon the racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia some thrive on.)  Many of us feel exhausted.  Many of us are not sure what to do if he wins another term, or even if he refuses to leave in defeat, as he has stated.  

On the other hand, many believe the lies they've been told that Democrats are closet socialists and are out to destroy America.  So they are motivated to "save" their country too.  

But here's what I'm thinking tonight, from my perspective:  

I'm amazed at the way so many have fought for a chance to vote him out, to vote early, to stand in long lines, to be undeterred. 

I'm grateful for wise, articulate, caring, compassionate people who will not give up, who will lead, and follow, and create, and keep going.  

I'm grateful for the people I've worked with to write letters and postcards to Get Out TheVote and for those who have made calls, sent texts, waved signs, reached out via social media, made contributions -- who have sacrificed their time, talent, and treasure to try to ensure a change for the better.

I'm grateful for the Facebook groups, the historians, the commentators, the people I will never know but who make up those with whom I am aligned and from whom I've gained knowledge, strength, and support.  

I'm grateful for the free press, for reporters who have been denigrated and threatened every single day and have still done the hard work of unearthing all the wrongdoing and letting us know about it.  

I'm grateful for Democratic elected officials who did every single thing they could to thwart this administration's wrongdoing even knowing they did not have the political power to really stop him; they fought with what they had and made sure everyone knew what was happening in spite of their best efforts.  

I'm grateful to know there are millions of American citizens who are just fine with a racist authoritarian in the White House.  I need to stop living in a fantasy of believing we are all in agreement on values; we are not.  I'll never again believe in the inherent goodness and rightness of the United States of America, believing as I did until 2016, that good people would not let a bad government survive and thrive.  They will and they will cheer for it.  

I'm grateful I now know how fragile our democracy is and how easily it can be lost. 

I'm cautiously hopeful about Biden/Harris winning the election.  And like many, the PTSD of 2016 kicks in like a bad luck charm the minute I express that optimism.  There is so much pain to overcome.

So, bottom line, I am grateful to believe, still, that fighting for diversity, equality, compassion, and democracy is a courageous act and that no one I know is giving up on that.  No matter what happens tomorrow, we are in this together.  We will get through and we will persevere.  No matter what happens tomorrow good people of goodwill will not be defeated.  Love wins.  Eventually, always, love wins. Let's start tomorrow.

At least, that's the view from here...©