I got home at 9:15 Tuesday night after working 14 ½ hours as a ballot clerk here in Waterville. I woke up at 5 the next morning and swear my body temperature dropped ten degrees as I watched online reports about the outcome. The question of whether to write about it or not has been like a jai alai ball ricocheting off the inside of my skull ever since that first sip of reheated coffee.
I did my best as an involved voter including contributing the equivalent of what it would cost to rent the cottage in Perry for a week to Emily’s List candidates, writing 200 postcards to swing state voters (this year in Nevada), driving a state house candidate around so she could knock on doors (she won), and writing 120 postcards to voters in support of her candidacy.
My immediate post-election thoughts included having Barry McGuire’s prophetic song Eve Of Destruction stick in my head, particularly the following stanza:
And think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
Ah, you may leave here for four days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next door neighbor but don’t forget to say grace
And you tell me
Over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction
No no, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction
I also am pondering and re-evaluating my opinion of the American people in general and the conclusions are NOT pretty. I’ll not share the more acerbic ones here, you can message me privately for those. However, I’m really worried for womens’ safety, along with anyone on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, and people who aren’t lily white.
That’s all I got today, folks.
Why are politics being written about in a crime writers column?
Because he’s a writer and he can write what’s important to him her.
Looking forward to talking at CRIME BAKE!
We were raised to be good citizens. And now this. For the person who queried why politics here? Our motto is all things writing and all things Maine. I guess spending hours working for candidates, hours training to work as a volunteer at a Maine polling place, and hours there, a Mainer who is also a writer might have an opinion.
Kate
John I get it. I’m surrounded by that hate here in rural Ohio. My rage at their ignorance is almost overwhelming. I, too, worked the polls and had to smile and be kind. Getting vitriol from voters wearing campaign regalia when told they have to remove it before they can vote. There was even one young couple with a little girl. I watched as he pointed to each choice she had to make on her paper ballot. Then she stood to one side with her hand over her daughter’s mouth so she couldn’t make a sound. He watched them closely the whole time he waited to vote. I fear for them. Hate won.
Thank you for your post today. I agree with what you wrote. There are no words, so it’s a good thing you were able to write about it. I too am re-evaluating my opinion of the voting public. My husband and I are pondering our options. It’s likely going to be a clean sweep in DC, and I don’t want to stick around for it. We’re just as stunned as you are but not surprised. I didn’t expect MI to go blue, and I was right, unfortunately.
That there are so many others who would rather have a this person than a woman is mind-boggling. I worry for my daughter-in-law, an African-American, for women in every state, for minorities and other marginalized communities. I hope America can keep its Democracy, as many countries in Europe are turning into hotbeds of political extremism.
I agree wholeheartedly. we have elected Hitler as our president.
God Bless America.