Getting Up Again

Ouch. I‘m just as stunned as everyone I know. But having trained in aikido for nearly 30 years, I know how to get up again. I’ve probably done it more than a million times. I’ve lived through the Kennedy assassination, the 60s, the Nixon, Reagan and Bush administrations, and I still believe that our country is great. But the fear that possible deregulating of everything we’ve fought so hard for scares me more than all the previous upsets. I’m afraid for the environment. I fear the idea that misogynists may have gotten a thumbs-up over this decision. And hey, it’s managed to scare that definitive scaremaster himself, Stephen King, who on his Facebook feed has stated that he will be shutting down for an indeterminate time.
I have to admit that I've had fun on Facebook this election, posting funny memes and responding to outrageous claims by friends of friends. It reminded me of my punk rock days, jumping into the mosh pit of expletives to defend a friend, getting bounced around, stepping out for a beer, and then going back in again.
 
But it’s over now, and we have to find a way to move forward. Secretary Clinton has done this again and again in her life; if any woman can get bounced around as much as she and keep coming back, then we all can be a little stronger because of her.
So in the coming months let’s be careful, mindful of our surroundings, and not give up fighting for a dream where eventually, maybe ¾ of us can agree on something.
My inclination is to keep on fighting the good fight locally, while staying connected to our friends world-wide. There are so many things we can still accomplish in spite of a conservative stronghold.
 
The sun did come up this morning in Oregon, mired in fog, but it’s still up there, shining over a giant, cantankerous country where apparently anything can happen.

---