2020. It’s been a hell of a year, no? In some ways it feels like it’s gone on forever, in other ways, like time stood still. Like most of you the biggest thing on my mind has been the recent election and after 8 months of COVID and 4 years of foolishness from you know who, it finally came. To say I was excited to vote was an understatement. I requested my Georgia absentee ballot sometime in May and was like a single chick in 1800’s, waiting by the window until it came - rushing to greet the mailman and snatching it out of his hands like an overdue love letter.
Because you see to me voting is a big deal. And I’m not talking about an “oh I think I lost my phone and forgot to set it up find my iPhone” type of big deal. I’m talking about the fact that people sacrificed themselves and died so that you could have this right kind of big deal. So you hear me when I say I take it seriously.
If you’ve followed us for a while (or at all) you know that Trump is not our jam. Not only is he an asshole, but he also represents the worst of America. The self indulgent, self absorbed, super white side that most of us don’t get to experience. The side that rubs us the wrong way, leaving us feeling unseen, unknown and disregarded.
When they announced that Trump had lost and Joe Biden was going to be our new President, I was hype but also hesitant. Hype because his time is up, but hesitant because somehow I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
In a party that seems to be okay with kneeling on a mans neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, taking children from their parents or allowing a virus to run rampant, expecting them to take the high road seems like a fools move.
As I watched the counts roll in, I was cheering at the television seeing GA tip towards blue. Growing up in diverse and (kinda) liberal Atlanta, I was insulated from a lot the small mindedness that plagues rural GA. Don’t get me wrong, I still saw my fair share of thinly veiled racism, but for the most part was surrounded by thoughtful, progressive, inclusive and diverse thinkers setting the stage for much of who I am today.
As I listen to everyone talk about how Georgia has changed, I can’t help but to think that it hasn’t really changed as much as it’s showing it’s true colors. This diversity of thought and inclusiveness has always been present, I just think that maybe that presence hasn’t always made its way to the polls. Notice I said, polls, Mr. President not Poles.
Anyhow, thanks to the efforts of many with Stacey Abrams leading the way, Georgia is now a key player on the political scene, a little island of blue surrounded by red. When I look at the election map, I imagine all the blue states like water, sending their waves of tolerance, empathy and acceptance outwards searching for other water until we meld into a shade of purple.
We are never going to agree on everything and that’s okay, but what’s not is not agreeing on one thing - that we all are entitled to the same basic rights - shelter, healthcare, financial stability and food security.
As I watch the current administration stonewall and throw out baseless claims about rampant voter fraud I can’t help but to wonder what’s their end game? In a time when we have people standing in line for hours just to get food, hospitals are over run and people are dying by the thousands each week the fact that they are choosing to ignore it is shocking. The fact that people are okay with that and voted for him (again!) even more so. We haven’t learned the lesson that is being presented to us, and as I’m sure we can all attest, life lessons keep presenting themselves until we get it - otherwise it gets us. Let’s hope it’s the former.
Stay safe out there.
