Words are inadequate to express our deep sadness about the election outcome— an election during which the choices were stark—black and white.
We find it difficult to get beyond the fact that we live in a country that has put a 78-year-old selfish, felonious bigot with little knowledge of the world, its history and cultures, back in the White House for a second time. A mistake made once by voters is understandable, but the same mistake made twice is insanity. Just imagine supporting a hardened criminal who promised to take away most, if not all, their civil rights if elected, all expressed in writing in the Heritage Foundation/Republican Party’s Project 2025!
We have no interest in superficial Monday morning quarterbacking about election tactics—who said what, to whom and when. What’s most important is understanding the underlying dynamics of the outcome.
So … how did this tragic election occur? All the guardrails of democracy had been weakened, primarily by a desperate Republican Party, aided and abetted by Christian nationalists, whose limited platform was, and never will be, broadly popular—basically to grab power for the benefit of the already wealthy 1%. (It feels as if they are determined to fight America’s Civil War all over again!) Hence, the lack of serious interest in bipartisan governance through cooperation and compromise. The lack of respect for laws and oaths of office. The toleration of a criminal as party nominee, who should have been shown the door long ago. The creation of a politicized Supreme Court as well as lower courts. The perpetration of an excessive amount of dark money in the political system to buy elections. And, finally, the normalization of dishonesty, lack of civility, shamelessness, and even violence to achieve desired political outcomes.
Furthermore, social media has made possible the normalization of disinformation to shamelessly influence gullible people, either stupid or too lazy to educate themselves on the issues. Siloed with sources that feed their biases, they isolate themselves from legitimate, alternative news sources. Also, rampant racism and misogyny, still alive in America after over 150 years, influenced far right Republicans to vote against democracy champions Harris/Walz and for Trump/Vance who openly supported autocracy/oligarchy, white supremacy and a flagrant bias against the rights of women and minorities.
Most heartbreaking, however, was that the election presented an unusual opportunity for America to, once and for all, turn over a new leaf and place racism, misogyny, extreme income disparities, political polarization, and deprivation of basic civil rights (the right to vote, accessible health care, a clean environment, and much more) in the rear-view mirror. But America failed again.
Finally … it was an opportunity to demonstrate that all the billionaire dark money in the world cannot buy election outcomes that are counter to the will of the people. America failed yet again. Fundamentally, it has all resulted in a cultural breakdown—a loss of our ethical moorings as a society.
How many more times must these same battles be fought? How long will it take people to use common sense and learn how to get along with one another for the common good? We are reminded of Winston Churchill who said: “Civilizations die from suicide, not murder.”
We have no easy answers for these problems now as the words of renowned physicist Albert Einstein keep ringing in our heads: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.”