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This Election the Struggle Against Terror and Tyranny Eclipses the Joy of Democracy
Election day, to be sure, inspires an array of complex emotions.
The feelings at work in our anticipation may include hope, nervousness, worry, anxiety, excitement, and more.
For those of us whom Trump has sickened and who are terrified by his autocracy and unabashed and relentless cruelty, vindictiveness, and complete lack of respect for human life, the dominant emotions are a combination of hope and dread — hope that Trump will be removed, dread that he won’t be.
Elections, also, though, especially the run-up to elections with local campaigning and vetting of candidates, has been accompanied by a powerful joy I’m not sure we always identify or properly recognize.
This is the joy of democracy that I think derives from our ability to participate in choosing our representatives, in guiding our futures, in being able to imagine change and do what we can through our vote and persuading others to motivate change.
This election cycle, which began four years ago, I have seen a terror drowning out that joy.
Let’s face it. It’s hard for joy to co-exist with fear and dread.
What threatens the joy?
