There's Got to Be a Morning After (#1,014)

Good morning dear readers: Like you, I awoke this morning with a queasy feeling in my gut and an ache in my head. After checking various online sources of political information, and attempting to deconstruct yesterday’s “Trumpster fire,” I felt the immediate need to be in contact with you all . . . even if briefly. While contemplating what words of comfort I could compose, two word-streams kept swirling through my brain: the first, Macbeth’s 75-word soliloquy in Act 5 Scene 5 (“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps into this petty pace . . . " and Al Kasha and Joel Hirschorn’s Academy-Awarding winning (1972) song The Morning After.” Both word-streams have their own haunting quality this morning: in the former, Macbeth states, in part, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot . . .” while the latter bravely asks, Oh, can't you see the morning after? It's waiting right outside the storm. Why don't we cross the bridge together, And find a place that's safe and warm?

While it is true that America is about to enter uncharted ground, the spirit and strength which has seen us overcome so many past challenges still hovers amidst and above us. Trying to figure out “how we came to this point” is, this morning, a fool’s errand best left for another day. We owe ourselves a bit of a breather . . . a period of adjustment in which we might reacquaint ourselves with the higher angels of our being.

Democrats and people who love America are grieving. That is understandable. Everyone will need time to express feelings of shock, anger, and fear. Respect those who need to talk about what happened and those who don’t want to talk about it. Everyone will need to process the results in their own way.

It will take time to digest what happened and why it happened. Both are necessary inquiries. But there is no rational explanation for America’s election of a felon, adjudicated sexual abuser, incessant liar, narcissist, and aspiring dictator. None. So, think about it as much as you need to, but don’t waste emotional energy seeking answers where there are none.

Trump is an avatar of anger for millions who see their world slipping away. There is additional nuance about racism, misogyny, and white nationalism, but it’s not more complicated than that.

We must invest all our energy in the process of recovery and the continued defense of democracy.

For those of you who have the ability to do so, providing leadership, comfort, and hope today will be a blessing to those who feel shattered. No false optimism, just genuine determination.

For myself, I think I will be taking a break from writing about politics. Instead, I shall spend a bit of my researching, writing and editing time dealing with my other blog, Tales From Hollywood & Vine. Perhaps I will find a bit of comfort getting back to my roots and "visiting” the heroes and heroines of my youth. I invite you to join me . . .

Be good to yourselves . . .

KFS