America is going to go through some things
We will stick together through it all.
So how’s your week going? Same as mine?
I know we’re all experiencing similar emotions as we navigate the stages of grief over the election. Wherever you are on the journey, it’s okay. We’re all moving at our own pace. Take care of yourself.
Donald Trump’s victory on Tuesday was a gut punch to all of us, across party lines, who share a vision of America rooted in respect, cooperation, and good, old-fashioned decency. Millions of our fellow Americans do not share that vision, and that is a hard pill to swallow indeed.
How do we react? We have no better examples than Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Yesterday, I attended the Vice President’s beautiful concession speech at Howard University, and today I listened to President Biden’s magnanimous remarks from the Rose Garden. They threw into stark relief what we endured four years ago and the poisoned well it has created ever since. Both Vice President Harris and President Biden have demonstrated a dignified patriotism that Trump isn’t capable of and a courtesy he never extended to them. We must follow their lead to the best of our ability.
I’m not going to lie to you. I’m worried about us. I fully expect Trump and his team to carry through with their promises, swiftly and mercilessly. I’ve written about my fears in this newsletter and more recently in an op-ed for MSNBC. Others have done so as well. America will not look the same a year from now—possibly much sooner than that—and many who voted for Trump do not realize what is coming.
But there will be time for that another day. In the spirit of Kamala Harris’ goodwill, I want to focus today on what we can be grateful for: each other. Gratitude may feel difficult or even impossible in these times, but it’s critical for us not to lose hope. I don’t mean that as a platitude but as a necessary self-care practice.
In fact, we must maintain hope, because we are all that is left. Trump will control Congress, the Supreme Court, and our federal agencies, and he has a public mandate and an immunity ruling on his side this time. The free press and academia will be under threat, and much of the tech world is in his back pocket. That will be our new reality come January 21, 2025.
But there is one thing left—civil society. In other words, us.
We must continue to be courageous. We must continue to be kind. We must continue to work toward a better future. And we must be there for one another. Because let’s face it: Trump’s last administration was a clown show that 81 million people voted to end. Soon they will remember why. And then our day will come. I have to believe that, and so do you.
When the media asked why I was there for Vice President Harris yesterday, my answer was simple: because it's at our lowest points that we stand by each other. Showing up when it's hard is what defines us. In moments of division and fear, our greatest strength is unity and resilience. We don't back down. We rise together.
When I started this journey four years ago and took a stand against Trump, I did it because I felt I had a moral obligation to tell the truth and do the right thing. I can only hope I inspired others to do the same.
I am proud to have supported Kamala Harris and honored to have gotten to know her these past couple of months. She would have been an amazing President. One that not only our country but our allies around the world would have been proud of.
While the outcome this week was not what we wanted, it solidified my resolve to stay strong and remain with you in the movement against authoritarianism in America. Sources of credible, factual information will become more and more scarce. You and I must remain the voices of truth in our communities, online and offline.
We are down but far from out. Thank you for being a part of this good fight with me.
See you next time,
Olivia
By 2026, after our agricultural economy has been ravaged by deportations and tariffs result in households paying thousands more, and social security and Medicare under threat, the buyer’s remorse will be fierce. The first step will be winning back the House and Senate.
Olivia, thank you for sharing this, and thank you for having the courage to speak truth to power.
We are going to need to devise survival strategies quickly. This time, trump has a collection of saboteurs who understand government in a way that he never has; and this time there are no adults in the room to curb his worst intentions.
I would like to think that blue state Governors should form a coalition to try and thwart the most extreme policies that trump will try and implement. New state laws and state executive orders about how contracts are awarded, how benefits and assistance are conveyed to citizens, and as Pamela Keith has suggested, perhaps forming a blue state health cooperative with the freedom to negotiate drug prices, and provide affordable health care in the event that the ACA is constrained or overturned. There are lots of ways to push back.
One of the scariest scenarios involves firing career Federal workers who have spent years learning their professions and providing continuity of government function between one administration and the next. To forcibly remove that giant cadre of highly functional workers will create chaos, invite bribery and fraud, and completely hamstring the goverment from functioning efficiently. Coming from a career in DoD, I can only begin to imagine the impact on the acquisition of materiel and services when it comes to providing our military with the tools it needs to do the job.
Worse yet, is the stated intention of having military personal sign loyalty pledges to a President, superseding their oath to the Constitution. This is untenable, and we will need to use our collective voices with all the leverage we can bring to bear to prevent this from happening. If implemented, this loyalty pledge would destroy good order and discipline in our military, and raise frequent and serious questions about what constitutes a lawful order while we are living in the midst of a very dangerous world.
Thank you for this forum. We now must plan for the worst, and hope for the best.
We are now living in dangerous times.