Fear has won the day. My disappointment over not electing our first woman POTUS is overshadowed by dread over who our nation has chosen, and all that this choice represents.
I despair for our country. We have chosen a candidate who campaigned on a platform of fear, hate and division. I despair for the long-term impacts to hard-won rights for women, the poor, minorities, immigrants, disabled, gays– essentially anyone who isn’t a wealthy white male. I despair for the long-lasting legacy of nominations to the Supreme Court–they were (and our) our only hope for reducing the toxic impact of big money on our politics. I despair over the almost certain escalation of hostilities and terrorism–both domestic and abroad.
I despair on a personal level: for the racism my latina grandbabies are now almost certain to experience; for our own retirement fund, which is nose-diving even as I write this; for future of Obama Care–which will ripple throughout our economy and my own employment.
Mostly, I despair because this choice represents who we have become as a nation.