“Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves.” ~ Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” ~ Maya Angelou

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill

“Life must be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” ~ Kierkegaard

“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.” ~ Frederick Douglass

“Alone, we may be afraid to sing out. Lifting every voice, we are stronger — and we can inspire one another to find the courage we will need to win.” ~ Chas Walker

“Many people prefer the devil they know rather than the angel they don’t.” ~ Jeanne Nelson

Following up on my previous post, I have to say that while I was happy with the voter turnout on  Election Day — although it was lower than 2020 — I was not happy with the outcome! Hence, the theme of the quotes above.

And I know that those who supported and voted for Kamala Harris are going through a tough time. Lots of deep disappointment and broken hearts. As a strong supporter of the Vice President, I get it! But in her words, “Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves.”

So, let’s take a quick look back and consider the etiquette of the post-election period, as well as our responsibilities and resolve as we move ahead in an uncertain and possibly fraught several years. Just remember, Americans do not shrink from a challenge; as a country, we’ve been through seemingly insurmountable situations throughout our history, and we will rise to the occasion once again.

The Election

Although under our Constitution everyone is entitled to vote for the candidates of their choosing, I wish the majority of my fellow Americans had not elected the candidate who engineered the overturning of women’s reproductive healthcare freedoms and protections that have caused harm and even death to women across the country, who inspired an insurrection against the peaceful transfer of power when he lost the 2020 election (and, as President again, will likely pardon the insurrectionists), who is a convicted felon and who has been indicted on other charges multiple times– including the taking and improperly storing of classified government documents when he left office in 2021 (those criminal cases against him will now likely be dropped or shelved),  who has said he will deport millions of immigrants, whose policies and appointments point to an eroding of Americans’ healthcare, whose economic policies threaten to bring inflation back and perhaps worse (Trump inherited Obama’s growing economy and now he inherits Biden’s booming economy).

On the global front, the president-elect’s foreign policy favors isolationism, a weakened NATO and “closer” relations with our nation’s historic adversaries as well as outright enemies. But the world today is more complicated than it was when he was in office before, with two wars raging and the interactions of enemy nations more volatile. Hence, it is deeply concerning that the new president reportedly will be surrounding himself with people loyal to him rather than top-notch military and foreign-policy advisors.

Finally, the Heritage Foundation’s extreme Project 2025, which a second Trump Administration could implement all or part of, threatens to make significant changes to our democratic republic. 

Throughout my longish life, I have voted in many presidential elections. Sometimes my candidate won, sometimes they lost. In all of those elections, even when I felt deep disappointment and even dread when the opposition candidate won (Richard Nixon and Donald Trump, for two examples), I always knew there would be another election and another chance that my choice of candidate would be elected.

This time, it feels different. I worry about the future of our democracy and the erosion of our rights, including our precious power to self-govern through our votes. During his campaign this time around, the former president told his supporters that if he is elected there would be no need to vote again as the “country will be fixed.” Trump’s no-need-to-vote-again comment suggests he wants to take away our right to vote and self-govern. Those who support him will say that’s just Trump being Trump; he doesn’t really mean that. I think we need to face the reality that he really does mean what he says!

For another example, although the Constitution allows a president to serve only two terms, we know from Donald Trump’s autocratic comments that he would like to change that and remain president for life and end our democratic republic. 

 Voting for the candidates of one’s choice is what a participatory democracy and self-governing are all about. I and millions of my fellow Americans will be sleeping with one eye open for the next few years to ensure that our democratic way of life and our freedoms are not tampered with under this new administration. 

Preserving Democracy And The Right To Vote

My sincere hope is that our newly elected president and other representatives in the Legislative Branch, as well as the newly elected state and local officials, will govern and legislate thoughtfully, respectfully, fairly, responsibly and always with the Constitution and the People in mind.

It is also my hope that although my candidate for president, Vice President Kamala Harris, lost the election, she will continue to pursue her career in politics; I believe she is an inspiring and outstanding stateswoman who is needed in a position of governing, legislating or law enforcement. As often happens, brilliant women are called in to serve as CEO to save a company in decline and then if something goes wrong they — not the elements that caused the decline in the first place — are blamed and often demoted or fired. This, combined with the racism she experienced, seems to have been Kamala Harris’s fate even though she ran an excellent campaign in a short period. In my view, the country and the world would be better off with her at the presidential helm. But as that is not to be, I hope she will remain active in government, because her brilliance and talents are sorely needed. That should also not preclude another run for president in 2028, but if she chooses another route in American politics or the private sector, I would like to see another woman run — we need to have presidents that represent the diversity of America. And the U.S. has yet to have a women making the decisions behind the Resolute Desk.

So, while I’m more deeply concerned about this new administration than I have been about any other, I expect that with the resolve of Americans — whether or not they voted for the president-elect –our Constitution will withstand the assaults it surely will face over the foreseeable future and we can next look forward to the 2026  mid-term elections. The mid-terms are often skipped by many, but they are just as important as presidential elections because they provide the opportunity to vote for new senators and representatives, allowing for your party to gain or retain control of one or both of the legislative chambers, as well as elect or re-elect governors, state legislators, mayors and so on.

That said, it also cannot be repeated often enough that before we vote in any election, it behooves us to research the candidates, using multiple sources. These can include a mix of mainstream media, social media and people we trust, including those with whom we have differing viewpoints – because as it’s been often said, we Americans have more in common with each other than that which divides us.

Recently, a neighbor shunned me when I was canvassing for one of the local candidates I was supporting; she did not realize that I was a neighbor — and one with whom she had had friendly exchanges on the community Facebook page! When I introduced myself, she was shocked and apologized. She is really a lovely person, and bringing our respective senses of humor to bear we’ve just agreed not to discuss politics – lol. And that’s okay; by bonding over our other shared interests we might eventually be able to reasonably discuss political issues. It’s important to keep an open mind and sort out how we agree and how we differ with others. We seem to have changed in our ability to debate politics without destroying relationships.

But back to political candidates: It’s also crucial to understand the character, outlook on democracy, stance on domestic issues and foreign policy; and going even deeper, here is a list of questions to ask or research about political candidates from the Harvard Business Review.

Once we have done our research, applied our own particular circumstances, and have in mind what is good for us as well as our country and the continuance of our democratic republic, we can cast our votes. I wonder if voters had known the whole picture whether they still would have voted for the person who will now occupy the Oval Office.

So, I hope thorough researching of candidates becomes routine and that we continue to see massive voter turnout in future elections, including state and local elections as those are equally important to ensuring a governing and legislative balance between Washington, D.C., our states, and our own backyards. 

Next Steps

It’s also important to remember that simply researching and casting informed votes do not fulfill our obligations with regard to self-governance; on an ongoing basis we need to speak our truths to the people who we have endowed with the authority to run our nation. We can do this by calling their offices, sending them emails via their respective websites, writing snail mail letters to them. You can find your elected officials by going to usa.gov/elected-officials. To further express our opinions publicly, we can comment responsibly and accurately on news articles and social media, and send letters to the editor of local and national publications.

Vice President Harris has committed to assisting President Biden in ensuring a peaceful transfer of power to the new president-elect. This process usually starts with a congratulatory phone call from the candidate who lost the election to the president-elect, followed by a concession speech. There are a few December dates involved in the transition process, including one in which electors vote in each state. Then the new House of Representatives convenes on January 3, 2025, and on January 6, Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over a joint session of Congress in a routine procedure to count the votes and officially declare former President Donald Trump the winner of the 2024 presidential election. You see the irony here. A further irony is that on January 6, 2021, the same Donald Trump, while president, incited an attack on the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from himself to Joe Biden, and replied, “so what” when he was told that his vice president, Mike Pence, was under threat of death by the rioters for certifying the 2020 election. As president once again, Trump has stated that he intends to pardon the rioters who have been indicted, tried, found guilty and imprisoned. 

On January 20, new presidents are ceremonially sworn in at the traditional Inauguration event.

It is more important than ever that we the People hold those individuals that have been elected to lead our nation for the next two, four and six years to a high standard of performance that includes decency, integrity, fairness, prudence, awareness, knowledge, inclusiveness, empathy, and impeccable judgment in domestic matters and foreign policy,  while always protecting, supporting and defending the Constitution.

To do this, we must also hold on to our Constitutional right to vote, and continue to use it often so we never lose it.

What else can we do? MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow has some urgent advice: Rachel’s pep talk and action list!

At this point in our lives we have arrived at a crossroads of history. This era will be in the history books for future generations to read (we hope) and we will all be a part of it. So, for me — along with millions of Americans –I shall support the loyal opposition in its efforts to restore and enshrine women’s reproductive rights and freedoms legislatively and, it is hoped, eventually in an amendment to the U.S. Constitution; enforce the climate change legislation passed under the current president; pass stronger gun safety legislation and, most of all, to protect our democratic republic and our voting and other precious rights. 

So, even if you voted for the president-elect, it will still be essential to monitor the actions of the new administration to ensure that our democracy does not go off the rails. Now is the time that we all need to be connected rather than disconnected, to stand together rather than apart, to be united rather than divided. We don’t want to cede our democracy to a potential dictator. Because this land is our land, the People’s land, and we really are all in this together. As we were told during the DNC Convention, now more than ever we must “do something.”

Until next time,

Jeanne