Hope, finally

Feb. 9, 2025

There’s a lot of grim news out there, and to be honest, I’ve had a difficult time finding hope. Ah, but then I remembered hope is always late for the party, showing up shiny and clean after all the hard work has been done.

Me and hope go way back, so I know you can’t achieve anything worthwhile by getting lost in outcomes. One lesson I’ve learned from just about every bad thing I’ve had to crawl my way out of is the power of a simple work ethic.

Keep your head down. Do what you think needs to be done, and hope will show up eventually. Late as usual.

Sometimes I nail it. We, the people, put our heads down and went to work after Trump took office the second time. For many of us, the rise of Trumpism was an existential threat to democracy. If you made a call, if you gave a buck or two, if you went to a No Kings rally, if you even once voiced your opinion about this dangerous dance with authoritarian government – you made a lasting difference.   

Not gonna lie. It has been hard. Every day was a new low. I’m just an average retiree who couldn’t help but wonder, how is it possible my fellow Americans think this is acceptable? I was ashamed and felt like a woman without a country. There was no place for me among these vicious fools. Everything I believed in was under siege. And I was angry.

But one election, and all of the sudden, it’s like somebody let the air out. I feel more like myself again. Calmer. Hopeful. And oh so happy Americans did not find this acceptable. Just knowing that team crazy will be challenged by a functioning Congress is incredibly heartening. I can read the news again without melting down. Dale calls it fun scrolling.

And T for Texas! Holy Toledo. I lived there seven years, and Texas will always have a soft spot in my heart. Kindness, integrity and concern for everyday Americans proved stronger than meanness, corruption and billionaire ethics.

There is still much work to be done, but now I feel the right people are in place to make it happen. I’m particularly happy it’s not just a case of me being feeling more comfortable with a return to status quo. This is definitely not business as usual.

Many of the electees are new to politics, come from wonderfully diverse backgrounds and bring lots of new ideas. When it comes to fighting for Americans from all walks of life, it looks to me like they give a damn. Like maybe they actually want to serve, not steal.

I had my doubts, but it looks like we’re going to get through this. Thank you, America! And thanks to our friends around the world who did not give up on us.