The Road to 270
As I write this it’s November 4th 2020. I’m watching every CNN projection and constantly refreshing the Associated Press homepage for updates wondering where it all went wrong. This election defines who we are as a nation more than ever before, yet an openly racist bigot still has a shot at the White House.
This blog is supposed to be a space of positivity and light, but this country is falling into darkness. I still believe, based on the numbers in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, that Joe Biden has a clear path to victory if those absentee and mail-in-ballots go the way we think they will. While that is a bit reassuring, there’s still so much of me that is riddled with anxiety over the outcome of this election. So much rides on this. Respect for basic human rights rides on this. Dignity and respect for our nation rides on this. The future of our country rides on this. Yet now, there is nothing you or I can do, but wait.
For someone who identifies as a neurotic control freak, it’s incredibly difficult to let go and realize it’s out of your hands. I did my part and voted, and now I have to watch and see what happens. While yes, the GOP is questioning the validity of ballots cast in a system we’ve been utilizing for years with zero issue and no legitimate fraud, one that the President himself has used every year, there is nothing we can do about how this election goes, until we can control how we feel. (Not to be nit-picky but on the fraud piece of things, I’d like to remind everyone that President Trump himself created a commission to investigate voter fraud in the 2016 election and found nothing…there were only 30 incidences of voter fraud out of 23.5 million votes which is just 0.0001% , and therefore not counted. In making Americans believe their electoral process is invalid, he is directly undermining the soul of this nation to further his political agenda and maintain power.)
When I was reflecting on the idea of losing control a bit during a morning meditation, it reminded me of a line in, don’t judge me, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. She writes,
“The best we can do…in response to our incomprehensible and dangerous world, is to practice holding equilibrium internally — no matter what insanity is transpiring out there.”
In that light, I’ve been taking at least one walk a day listening to meditations to try and find that peace internally. I can’t control the electoral college. I can’t control the way my friends and family vote. I can’t control how people in counties across the US view our government. I can control how I react to this situation and where I go from here. I can control how I will work with my peers to create a better America that serves every single person, not just those at the top.
As I’m concluding this blog post on the night of November 5th, we just watched the President lie for 15 minutes about the integrity of our election, sighting no evidence in regards to this phantom voter fraud, then accuse states run by Republican governors of Democratic corruption. This is absurd and ethically wrong. He is purposefully sowing falsehoods in order to undermine the democratic process. We need to rise above this fascist, find truth and integrity within ourselves, and bring that strength with us everyday to fight these injustices as one nation united by true democracy. Take a moment for yourself over these coming days of uncertainty and know you can define how we move forward.
