OK – it’s time for everyone to take a deep breath. Inhale – exhale. This is going to work out; I know this in my heart of hearts. It could get ugly, and parts of it are sure to be unpleasant. I don’t know what we are going to look like when we are done. But I do know this: we can do this, I know we can.
I know that one of the hardest things for me is this feeling of uncertainty I have. I don’t know what’s coming next. Even if I thought I did know, I am not sure that I could believe myself. I actually never saw this coming. I feel as is I have lost my grip on reality – that may be one of the worst things about this whole situation.
So how do we deal with the uncertainty? In my case I have to find something that I can personally do. It doesn’t have to be big and life-altering – in fact, at this point it can’t be. So yesterday I made a donation to Planned Parenthood – it’s not big, but it is what I can do. Next month I think I will make a donation to the ACLU. You don’t have to send money – maybe you can volunteer somewhere. Maybe you can just stand next to someone who needs an ally. I don’t know – I don’t have the answers, I have the questions!
And here is what I DO know: this is not who we are as a country – at least it is not who I want us to be as a country. We have always been a welcoming and accepting country – whether you are male, female, black, white, green, straight, gay, questioning, trans, Lutheran, Catholic, Druid, Jewish, Muslim, a follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, some combination of the above, or anything else. This is what I hope we remain! And we are better and stronger together, so we need to stick together!
There are many, many people out there who are willing to help. If you need help, please reach out and look for one of them. We want this to be a safe place for everyone.
I welcome input and suggestions. How do you deal with this? How do WE deal with this?
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