I was once at a women’s conference in San Antonio. I remember Maya Angelou reading a wonderful poem. I think Gloria Steinem was also there. A woman was introduced as being from a “third world country” (more accurately, a colonized nation.) She was asked by the well dressed interviewer how she kept from being discouraged. The interviewer confessed that she sometimes lost hope when she looked at our current problems.
My memory is foggy about the details but it seems like the woman being interviewed was from an exploited nation in Africa. What I remember clearly is that she took a deep breath and tried to say as politely as she could:
“The oppressed cannot afford the luxury of despair.”
Her words were a real wake up call for me. This may be the most important election of our lifetimes, but either way the vote goes we will have work to do.
The problems in this country have not developed overnight. Racism, sexism and a predatory economics did not arrive suddenly with the MAGA movement. These cancerous lesions in the American Dream came over on the Mayflower. White landed males who spoke of freedom as they enslaved and exploited their fellow human beings were the imperfect understandings of human rights that must now blossom to include all persons.
In some ways, this may be the most important election of our lifetime. At the same time, we must remember that our ethical foundation is not on the line with this one election. Our human family will need us either way this election goes. We cannot afford the luxury of despair if our side loses, and we cannot afford the opium of complacency if our side wins.
Either way this election goes, after we have grieved or celebrated the outcome, we must wipe ourselves off and recommit ourselves to the goal of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness for our entire human family.