It’s the most important election of our lifetime. What will it mean for America?
by Mauve Maude
November 2, 2020
On this we can agree.
Our country has reached a turning point. Everything America did before we got here, and everything we’ve done since, has brought us all directly to this moment. And for the second time in our history we seem to be split down a solid line, marking two vastly different visions of what our future should look like, forcing all or most of us to jump definitively to one side or the other. But no matter what happens, we’ll all be here to deal with it. None of us were here the last time, so this one is up to us. And, yes, we have to do it with danger literally floating around in the air.
Our country only gives us those two baskets to drop our petals into.
Though there’s always been extreme behavior to witness, most of us are not extremists. We’re not two poles; we’re the middle. The poles are so shocking because realistically, we know that our experiences, our viewpoints, and our very lives are complicated, even when they’re mundane. They’re not absolute, and they’re not simple. We come with myriad pieces, and we know we don’t really fall neatly into two baskets.
But our country, as it is today, only gives us those two baskets to drop our petals into. So each of us gets the chance to step up and pick apart the issues that decorate our lives, like flowers, and decide which ones go where. One petal for racial justice, one for abortion rights, one for religious freedom. One for marriage rights, building families, or the right to legally or accessibly just be, and speak our truths, in the open. One for gun rights, one for the police. One for our ability to make a living, to own a home, to retire, one for preserving our health. How many for our children’s futures–their educations, their environment, the economy they’ll inherit, their rights? How many for who walks, or who lives on our streets? How many for our culture, our relationships with each other, our freedoms? And will we keep any for ourselves? We know we’ll put things where we feel, and where our beliefs are. But which basket will end up with more weight, and which petals will miss the basket and just lie on the ground? That’s the question. What comes next, and what doesn’t?
We know that our experiences, our viewpoints, and our very lives are complicated, even when they’re mundane. They’re not absolute, and they’re not simple.
Though we’ll have the most major, most pressing question answered soon enough, questions of the future will continue to linger.
After all, these issues didn’t spring up since the last election, or even the two or three before that. We’ve worked on some things, and some things have been left to the side, simmering always, beneath the veneer for some, and right in the faces of others. Now our melting pot is boiling over. No matter who wins the support of the electorate, they’ll have the rest of the country to deal with, and so will we all. It is necessary, and it is urgent. And in reality, there’s only one way to go. Every tomorrow is like this. All we have is forward.
What do you think? I would like to hear from you, but you won’t find the typical Comments section here. If you have given the issue some thought or have an experience to share, please enter it here, or send your response to Maude@mauvereport.com. I would like to share viewpoints from all sides.