There is a truth in our country regardless of who actually won Tuesday night. Many people are suffering to a degree that they cannot hear or see the truth of who represents them. Some other people are bigoted racists, among other despicable things, and supported a candidate who fanned the flame of their bigotry.
This is all true and real. And at the exact same time, in the face of these painful facts, there are actually more people who are determined to push up against that hate, racism and denial. I believe this has always been true and will continue to be true, whether or not it is reflected in the outcome of a single contest.
We lost Tuesday night’s race. It is shocking and in some ways beyond our comprehension. But we should aim to comprehend it. If Clinton had won (the electoral vote), this duty to comprehend and to confront would be no less compelling, only less frightening in its imagined implications.
But that is all that has changed as of this moment: fear amid imaginings. I would propose that this is the time to imagine less (we really have no idea), be as present as we can be with the current painful condition of our country, and calmly gather our energy for the healing, resistance and reform that lies ahead.
History has shown us dark times before. This is a new set of facts that feels scarier because we are living it, and has its own unique features, as every dark time does. And because we have seen worse, history can and should provide us strange comfort: imagine how people felt when JFK, MLK and RFK were all assassinated within five years. The Vietnam War. Never mind World War II and the Holocaust and slavery and the chapters of government-sponsored/voter-generated suffering through the ages.
This is a dark moment. And true to human existence, in darkness there is always light and opportunity.
While we endure the shock and sadness, we can soothe with the confidence that we will show up, alongside millions of others, to stand and fight and listen and learn and deliver on the side of what is right and good. And we will prevail, and fail, and prevail, and fail and hopefully come to the end of our days on a prevailing note because that always feels better. But really there is no failure when we act true to who we are, put ourselves out there and join with others to gain the power that is necessary to move toward positive change.
This is our moment to lead our children and for our children to lead us. We will learn from each other the power of resiliency, determination, solidarity, and commitment to the values that bind us.
We would never choose in a million years to teach them or ourselves this way. But here we are. And we will accept the challenge because that is all there is. Our very beings, separate and together, young and old, embody the path to greater light. We are on it right this minute.
Pamela Schwartz, an activist who is a former Northampton city councilor, is the mother of three children.