A Benediction on Election Day

Sending out deeply felt psychic vibrations—aka prayers—to my beloved country and citizens that we succeed to summon the strength to defeat fascism, save our democracy and begin the process of wound-binding and reconciliation.

So far, we have truly risen to the occasion with 100 million already having voted despite Trump’s sustained effort to demonize early voting, to sabotage the post office, and a million other tactical efforts to steal the election. We as a society have so far responded effectively to those efforts and it has been inspiring to watch. In that context, I was uplifted yesterday by Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas—a George W. Bush appointee who rejected an outrageous GOP appeal to invalidate 127,000 votes in Harris County that had been cast through drive-in voting—making clear that at least some Republican judges will have the courage and integrity to stand in the way of transparent efforts to wrongly strip Americans of their franchise and deep-six democracy.

Obviously, there will be more such efforts in the coming days and we may need to go into the streets in our millions to demand a fair and full counting. Deeply grateful to Joe Biden, who has run a decent and politically adept campaign; standing up to the bully and highlighting effectively what is at stake. Those of us to the left of Biden—including Bernie and AOC—have stayed disciplined and on-message; showing understanding that the imperative of the moment is to vanquish Trump and capture the Senate—internal debates come later.

Whatever happens in next few days we must remain calm and non-violent in our response, remembering that we will need to reconcile with our fellow citizens, many of whom are decent human beings who have been triggered and deluded into supporting Trump. Remember the enemy is Trump and fascism, falsehood, greed and rapacity, not our fellow Americans. Many of them will begin the process of healing once the Trumpian fever is decisively broken.

A tall order indeed, but I am guardedly optimistic this morning, based on the experience of the past few months that we will pass the test—and in the process save our country and help save the planet; giving our children and grandchildren a fighting chance at a decent future. Ain Breira—we have no choice—-but to accomplish all of the above. Let’s do it.