Wow, it’s been a crazy past month!
Sorry about my absence from blogging. I’ve been active on Twitter and other sites, but between parent life, promoting a new book, the ongoing pandemic — and, to top it off, the most stressful election week of all time, oy vey — I haven’t found the time to blog, until now.
But hey, as far as the election? Exhausting (and existentially horrifying) as it was to sit through the whole ordeal, the overpowering sense of relief that finally arrived, once Trump had lost, might’ve been the best moment of 2020. Seriously. Even now, just looking at headlines, like this one from November 7th, brings all that happy relief rolling back:
Yes, of course, there’s still a long road ahead. Undoing the damage done by Trump will take time, and there’s still a lot more damage that #45 can do (and is trying to do) on his way out, including his childish whining, lawsuits, and inane conspiracy theories. Yes, those gutless, authoritarian obstructionists like Mitch McConnell are still in power. Yes, Trumpism is the product of a greater systemic evil, not the cause of it, and the racism, hatred, and white supremacy that he riled up is still out there. Capitalist greed continues choking the most vulnerable people in society. And even with Trump gone, the road to increasingly important progressive reforms such as single-payer healthcare, ending systemic racism, and so on, will be long, tangled, and take sustained, concentrated effort — from both protests to the ballot box, and more.
But.
But.
Future challenges aside, it’s worth savoring that moment where this particular race was finally called. Remembering when finally, finally, the United States took down its abusive bully. The moment that felt, in so many ways, like finally taking a massive weight off the nation’s collective chest. Yes, there’s still a lot of work to do, but at least this part is done.
Anyway! With all this said, I’ll be back here tomorrow, to share some reviews of Knight in Paper Armor. Stay tuned!
Nicholas Conley 