We did it.

Me, you, your mothers and fathers, your sisters and brothers, your sons and daughters, even our ancestors who fought through blood, sweat and tears to achieve this moment … we all did it.

Early this morning – after a week of stress, uncertainty and frustration, which capped off 10 months of the same – the 2020 U.S. Presidential Elections was called for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris.

We did it.

For most of this year, we as Americans have dealt with the loss of so many great people who enlightened, entertained, educated, inspired and who gave us hope. Since March, we have dealt with a virus that the current administration has widely ignored and/or downplayed. Since April, most of the country has been required to quarantine, work remotely, wear a mask and social distance. In May, the world watched George Floyd lose his life by the hand of another … the straw that broke open wide the camel’s back of hate, systemic racism and injustice on all levels.

And for almost four years we’ve been pushed back into a closet, our voices were muted, the color of our skin, our sexual orientation, our religious/faith-based beliefs and our desires to finish building a union where everyone was truly treated equally was laughed at, looked down on and threatened. But no more.

We did it.

But there is oh so much more to do.

Read more at https://bit.ly/36fLTyB

The sadness of it all

Where do I even begin?

Like many people across the country, I've just finished watching the first of three U.S. Presidential debates between the current Commander-in-Chief and former Vice-president Joe Biden. The worst thing about the debate is I don’t feel glad or mad. 

I feel sad.

I'm sad that two men wanting to lead America for the next four years, at minimum, acted less than presidential. And although I expected Trump to do so, I am shocked at some of the things that came out of his mouth. 

Probably the most appalling – and telling – was his response to if he would denounce white supremacists and tell them to stand down. His response was not being able to speak to a specific group or say exactly who these hateful individuals are, yet telling "them" to "stand back and stand by."

Stand back and stand by?!

If you do not understand what is wrong with his answer, then you are not my friend. Period. It was this statement that did it for me. It was this statement that my anger, my shock, my feigned disbelief ... it all turned to sadness. Not just for this statement, but for how Trump has handled everything he has ever put his finger on.

As we now know, this man who claims to care about human lives, made (and continues to make) poor decisions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The 19 is not the number of "covids" we've seen – like what former counsel to the president Kellyanne Conway once stated on air – but that it was identified in 2019. And to believe that the leader of the free world had little knowledge of it until March 2020 is ignorant. And because of his decisions, I am impacted in a way in which I never thought I would be.

For the first time in my 59 years, it has been 366 days since I've been able to hug my Mom. 

Because the president mishandled so many things early on so as to not make us "panic," I am having to experience a different type of loss from the woman who has always been there for me. I was unable to be by her side during a schedule surgery in April nor during eight weeks of radiation that followed. And there are other things I've missed – like everyone else – but all I can say is thank God (and Apple) for Facetime.

I know and empathize with everyone who won't be able to hug a loved one ever again ... but my frustration comes from the fact that we should not even be sad. 

But we are.

Just do the right thing

I found this meme a couple months ago and like many who share my view of trump, I found it humorous. I was saving if for a #LateNiteFunny for this reason, but sadly it is no longer funny.

#ICYMI, the leader of the United States of America publicly said Wednesday, he "would not guarantee a peaceful transition of power should he lose, undermining a bedrock of American democracy." In fact, he has said or implied the same several times since July.

What we see happening in the White House, in our communities, across the country ... none of it is funny anymore. And what we ALL need to do is forget partisan allegiances and really go deep inside and ask ourselves:

1. If all labels and politics are stripped away, is this a man whose actions and views I really want to support?

2. Is this a person I would want to work for, hang out with on the weekend or invite into my family's home?

3. Do I really, truly understand that the comments, tweets, etc., he continues to share for all to see are racist, homophobic and filled with hate for people he doesn't even know personally (but I may) and go against what my God has taught me all my life?

Ladies and Gents ... we no longer have two political parties that may not agree, but who work together for A BETTER GOOD. What we have is one person who is being backed into a corner, is scared and has demonstrated a desire to "rule" not run this country under a democracy. And those two parties? There members are filled with so much fear for what they may lose in taking action versus what the country may lose if this continues.

Go ahead stick by your party, but when you vote, do the right thing. For the lives of our children, communities, country and world, just do the right thing. No one has to know unless you tell them.

No one has to know ... but God/Your Higher Power. And He/She/They is the ONLY one you have to answer to.

#my25cents

#realtalk

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