The Grasshopper Reader Letter, 11/8/24

My post election state of mind

Photo by Dave LZ on Unsplash

The Grasshopper Reader Letter, 11/8/24

Here’s to Democracy, we had a good run

I thought I might not have much to say after the results of the election. After all it feels like the end of life as we know it. And on Wednesday morning, after hearing the news, I avoided the news and the thought of digesting it here.

So of course I wrote 1700 words, writing as therapy, both for myself and my readers who are probably in the same stunned state. There’s value in that and I’m not ready to check out yet. So, you’re stuck with me.

The big question of course is what happens now and what can we do about it. And the answer right now is not much. Not encouraging but humans have a way of finding paths to resistance, but it’s going to take time.

Those paths often start with creation- writing, art, performance, often underground, and word spreads. I’ll be watching for signs of that underground activity but I’m going to keep writing.

It was hard to despair on Wednesday because it was one of those mild, hazy fall days when the air is soft and the leaves are nearly all down. The color literally goes out of the world after one last exhilarating display. And the days near the shortest of the year, contributing to a sense of ending.

But, inevitably things turn and the cycle starts again. A little patience is apropos here, a little perspective. At least I keep telling myself that!

The real story of this administration is going to be their blindness to the reality of climate change, a reality that will be more and more undeniable. And that denial may be their downfall as more and more Americans get mad.

That’s going to be a topic I’ll be watching, the big one in my opinion, the biggest in my life. For example, look at what has happened in Florida in just the past year. Multiple destructive hurricanes have battered the state and insurers have fled, destroying the housing market in many areas.

Pretty hard to deny that and there are a lot of people who are mad that thought it couldn’t happen to them. Now imagine Florida four years from now. The weather will not get better, it will get worse. That’s a scenario where political change can occur.

The lovely weather we’ve been having in Western New York is amazing but we are averaging nine degrees above historical norms. And we are close to drought. Lots of things to contemplate.

Other events will test this administration, events they are poorly prepared for. Escalating war from an emboldened Putin or Xi Jinping. An escalating regional war in the Middle East. An attack on Taiwan, forcing Trump to deal with war, not his strong point, despite his bombastic rhetoric about ‘fixing’ things.

So, I take some comfort that these tests may break the next Presidency as people realize their incompetence. But this is probably a longer problem as they dismantle the democracy and solidify power. All the signs are there.

Cheery, right? Life is cyclical. Spring always comes eventually. The days grow brighter and longer. Life returns, even in the face of hurricanes, fires and floods. Politics diminishes in the face of those awesome things.

I recently ran across this quote and it stopped me in my tracks:

“I have found that all ugly things are made by those who strive to make something beautiful, and that all beautiful things are made by those who strive to make something useful.”

~ Oscar Wilde

I started writing this letter on Wednesday November 6, but realized I was still in a bit of a state of shock. I literally could not read or watch the news for the past few days because the headlines told me our worst nightmares were already taking place. It was painful but I got over it.

I got over it because I had to. I had to because this is our lives, even if we now know a lot of people around us voted for these guys. We can’t distrust all our neighbors. If we do, they really won. So I’m back to reading the news and trying not to take everything personally, a challenge to say the least.

I write these reader letters, once a week or so, to give myself room to ramble and so we can feel like we know each other better. The Witness Chronicles has a very limited reach compared to the size of the world, but it grows slowly and steadily. I will ask that if you like something I’ve written, please share it with a friend or relative that you think might find it interesting.

That’s my only pitch today.

Last night I decided to walk over to my local and have a drink and be around people. I needed a reminder that normal life goes on and it does. While walking I was accompanied by a lovely crescent moon, always a remarkable thing that never gets old. Somehow I think it helped calm me a bit after the turmoil of the last few days.

I thought after the election that I might not write about politics anymore. But the name of this newsletter is The Witness Chronicles and the responsibility is to witness, whether I like what I see or not, and tell what I think. I signed up for this, you signed up to read it, and together we’re a little cadre of people who share a concern for democracy.

That sounds pretentious but I think it’s true. We throw around concerns like the future of democracy but it is the glue that holds this thing together and gives us the freedom to write and to walk where we want under a crescent moon, freedom some do not have. Thank you.

Martin

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