Overnight, from Tuesday to Wednesday, the world shifted on its axis. We can pretend we awoke to the same country, and go about our business, but we did not.
Do you recall that moment in March 2020 when something similarly seismic happened? The night the coronavirus pandemic was declared a national emergency, and when we awoke, all the public spaces, from airports to shopping malls, had been cleared of people and the world had fallen silent? The world falls silent this morning, as it reacts in stunned awe to the American people’s having voted away their 248-year-old democracy.
Make no mistake. This wasn’t an ordinary election, and this was not a victory for the Republican Party. This was a victory for an American Christian nationalism that as yet has no proper name.
Are you a sensible, common-sense, old-time Republican voter or an independent who felt fine standing on the sidelines? Do not deceive yourself. With all three branches of the U.S. government consolidated under the Trumpian flag, our great nation now stands aligned with a new world alliance of Vladimir Putin in Russia, Viktor Orban in Hungary, and Kim Jong-un in North Korea. Trump has called these men his friends. Believe him. The oligarchs, autocrats, and billionaires now stand shoulder to shoulder, and that is now our side.
The president-elect does not agree that dissent is essential to a democracy. The president-elect has told us he has no intention to leave office again. He has spent years using grotesque and violent language to promise revenge on political opponents, as well as vowing mass deportations. Again, believe him, believe him. There is no branch of government to stand in his way.
What can we do this morning? Call a family meeting to discuss strategies for coping with practical matters, especially if you have young women under your roof. Gather friends in a church basement to discuss care for immigrant neighbors, be they from Latin America or Haiti. Convene your book group to read about how other peoples, in other countries, under other autocracies, have kept their chins up and their ideals clear.