Ignorance Won

No, I'm not calling anyone ignorant!

Hello, friend.

Thank you for being here, for sticking with me. I appreciate you more than ever.

I wasn’t planning on writing another post-election article. So many others are writing far better, insightful commentary. But I felt nudged to churn out this one. I write about trauma, after all. Up until now, I’ve focused on writing about cancer and grief, but for many of us, this election resulted in trauma, too. Granted, not in the same class as cancer or grief due to loss of a loved one, not even close. But for many out there, perhaps you, this is trauma, too, and the grief you’re feeling is real as well.

Keep reading. Don’t keep reading. I get it if you’re not up to reading one more thing about how the election turned out. Tend to your mental health. Find your tribe. Step away from social media and advocacy, or dive in deeper. Do what suits YOU. We all process differently.

If you do decide to keep reading, thank you. As always, I look forward to reading your thoughts. After all, I am not here just to listen to myself. I’m here to support YOU through difficult times. And this, too, is one of those times.

---

---

Ignorance Won

No, I am not calling anyone ignorant!

It's been a difficult week. My emotions are still all over the place. The anger hasn’t subsided, not completely anyway. Nor should it, in my view. It comes and goes. Mostly, it’s feelings of disappointment that remain. I feel betrayed by white women, college educated or not, who voted for Trump and by voters who stayed home — especially the latter. I’m disgusted that Musk has so much power and that plans are underway to put Project 2025 in motion.

So, no. I’m not done processing my disappointment. Not yet. Are you?

It’s useless to point fingers and play the blame game. I’m not sure there’s anything that could’ve been done or said by the Harris campaign that would’ve changed the outcome, especially in such a brief number of days to campaign.

People have been dug in for months. Minds were made up. I'm not buying that there were a lot of undecided voters up until the end either. I think that was the media searching for stories and time slots to fill.

Sure, there are things Dems need to look at, things to learn for next time. But that is very different than getting stuck in the muck of blaming Biden or Kamala Harris. Or whatever.

I’ve decided not to read any more articles or watch TV pundits talk about what Harris/Dems did wrong. There are so many layers to this loss, and again, finger pointing isn't helpful. It's also a waste of time and energy. We are where we are. Time and energy might be better spent equipping ourselves to deal with what's coming.

Bottom line, character didn't matter one iota this time. Sad but true.

This is the fact that bothers me most as it goes against everything I've been taught and learned throughout my life. It doesn’t fit with my values. I’m appalled half the country is fine with such a vile man representing us despite knowing what we already know about him.

What does this say about our nation’s values?

The election results unravel what I thought America stood for — that good will prevail. We always do the right thing in the end. Voters always come through. That kind of thing.

The other day, I read an outstanding piece by Jess Piper (I intend to keep reading her pieces as she is solution oriented.) She lives in Missouri, so she knows what she’s talking about regarding what it’s like to live as a Democrat and staunch advocate in a very red state. I live in WI — maybe not a red state yet, but a red-leaning one, at this point in time, anyway. Senator Tammy Baldwin barely survived, getting reelected by a very slim margin. As I’ve mentioned before, my county, my community, my street is red. Very red.

(Note: Wisconsin didn’t do that badly in this election, considering all the shenanigans and money involved. Some might even say WI did pretty well. Read about that here, if you’re interested.)

As usual, Jess Piper's words uplifted and inspired me. If you’re not following her, consider doing so. (The View from Rural Missouri by Jess Piper)

Specifically, these words from Jess hit home for me:

I hate to admit it, but ignorance won. And it will keep winning until we realize that we can’t win by playing politics as usual. This isn’t the same world. Knocking 100 doors is a personal connection that might win a small race — I don’t know that it can change the larger races. Trump’s folks weren’t knocking doors. They were lying to the masses through an extreme right-wing reality that most of us can’t conceive.

We don’t live in the same world, much less the same reality.

Amen.

Stating that ignorance won is quite different from calling someone ignorant, something I would never do. It also seems accurate.

If saying ignorance won doesn’t roll off your tongue easily, try swapping out the word ignorance for disinformation. Or any of the other words or phrases below.

Disinformation won.

False narratives won.

Propaganda won.

Alternate reality won.

Fear won.

Apathy won.

Misogyny won.

Racism won.

Disconnect won.

See what I mean?

All the above help to create ignorance, do they not?

I prefer saying, ignorance won. It's direct. Its a noun. It's not a label to slap on to someone. There's a cause and effect. When people only consume propaganda-type news, are fed disinformation day after day, and hear lies over and over, they begin to accept as reality things that are not real at all.

Mary Trump explains it like this in a recent post:

We learned a lot earlier this week about the many reasons we lost—from the institutional and structural and characterological—but the main reason, which is both a cause and effect, is the massive, coordinated right-wing media ecosphere which has overtaken traditional/legacy media and which the left has done nothing to challenge…Democrats have been buying TV ads while Republicans have been buying TV stations—and radio stations, local newspapers, and podcasting networks.

All good points.

The result — there’s a disconnect. For example, voters everywhere (for the most part) support abortion rights, voting to protect them even in red states, but yet, many of them still voted for Trump — the person most responsible for taking away a woman’s right to choose. Again, that disconnect due to muddying the waters/issues, okay due to lying, is obvious.

According to recent polling, most voters support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants — not mass deportation — but again, voted for Trump. (This also bore out in election day exist polling, but I was unable to find a link and can’t recall the source where I heard/read it.)

This disconnect does not make those who voted for Trump ignorant. Disconnect does, however, create ignorance. Again, those are two very different things. Understanding this disconnect makes the situation we are now in easier to understand. For me anyway.

I realize some will think I'm judging MAGA voters and others who went for Trump by stating, ignorance won. Some might even call me one of the elites, which is laughable considering I'm the daughter of two public school teachers, became one myself, and have lived in the Midwest my entire life, much of it in rural areas.

The reality is that an awful lot of people looked past the ugliness of Trump’s character and voted for him despite having an intelligent, experienced, compassionate person on the other side who had actual plans for making their lives better.

No matter what Dems did or did not do wrong, that is still the bottom line.

Consequences of this election are yet to be revealed, but I’m doubtful there will be many that will benefit the working-class voters who helped put Trump back in power — those in greatest need may very well suffer most.

But here we are. In a whole new era.

Giving up or going silent aren’t options for sustaining our democracy.

Like I always remind Cancer Havers and Grievers post trauma, moving forward is the goal. One day, one step at a time.

I have reached the acceptance stage — not acceptance of the GOP agenda that is being readied to set in motion on day one, but acceptance of the reality we find ourselves in.

As the always brilliant Anne Lamott posted on Facebook last week:

I don’t know how things are going to shake down…How do we keep the faith in goodness? I don’t know. We just do… Today? We take care of ourselves and those we love. We always, always take care of the poor, with donations, or bags of groceries to local food pantries. We get outside… When I noticed how droplets sparkled amid grass stems, it helped me begin to breathe again. Left foot, right foot, left foot, breeeeeathe: this, and kindness, are all we need to know right now; today.

So…

I will dust myself off, stay on my self-imposed news-watching diet (recommended here by my friend Beth L Gainer), practice self-care, and remember Kamala Harris’ words:

Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. For the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But, America, if it is: Let us fill the sky with the light of a billion brilliant stars.

I intend to be one among those billion brilliant stars and encourage you to be as well. Yes, YOU.

How will we do it?

I don’t know.

But together we’ll figure it out. We have to.

A few suggestions to help get you started:

• Follow/subscribe to Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance, Thinking about… by Timothy Snyder, The View from Rural Missouri by Jess Piper, Letters from an American by Heather Cox, The Good in Us by Mary L Trump. All are excellent resources to learn from. There are many others. Share your favorites in the comments.

• When you’re ready, stay engaged as much as your energy level allows.

• In the weeks ahead, repeat to yourself rule #1 from Timothy Snyder’s excellent book, On Tyranny: “Don’t obey in advance.” (This book is a must read.)

• Practice self-care. Savor that cup of coffee, and then, have another. Read. Walk. Journal. Nap. Grieve. Read some more. Look at the stars or anything in nature — really look.

• Find your tribe, but’s it’s also okay, necessary at some point, to speak with and listen to those who are not in your tribe. Again, when you’re ready.

• Resist the temptation to retreat or withdraw (something I tend to do). Figure out what advocacy arena matters most to you and focus on that. It needn’t be political at all. Pick one thing, and do it. No one can do it all.

• Resist the temptation to doom scroll. Instead, read, like, and share articles that uplift, inform, inspire, or make you laugh (or at least smile). In other words, be that light. Be one among those brilliant stars.

• Stay grounded in love. Love of family and pets, love of friends, love of books, or love of whatever it is you love.

If you have a suggestion to add, share it in the comments.

I’ll close with these words from Julia Hubbel.

Be the light. Because when you and I aren’t, we are part of the problem. We’re better than that.

We’ll get through this together. Together, we can be among those billions of brilliant stars.

---

---

How are you feeling one week post election?

No matter who you voted for, how do you plan to be one among the brilliant stars in the darkness?

Do you have a Substack writer or book to recommend for a time like this?

---

If you are willing, I’d be very grateful if you shared my article. Thank you in advance.

---

---

Click on the image below to visit my author website.

---

Thank you for being here with me. I appreciate you.

As always, I see you. I hear you, and I care about what YOU have to say.

Until next time…

Take care of yourself, be kind to someone, and be a light.

Warmly, and with so much gratitude,

Nancy