FEELINGS/ELECTION

The World is Awash in Sadness

Consequently, “anger” is not always what it seems

This word is tossed around like a softball but we no longer live in “challenging” times, we’re living in “brutal” times. Brutal.

And I’m certain that, like me, many of you were holding your breath during “election week.” What a relief to finally draw breath, again, no?

The last several months have tested us all. Not just here in the United States, even though, given the monster in the White House, we’ve been dragged through the proverbial ringer, but all over the world.

People are sick and desperate and lacking in hope for a future where face masks and hand sanitizers are no longer necessities. Where we can meet a friend at a bar or restaurant without worrying that we’re going to contract a virus that can kill us, and horribly. Where we can attend family gatherings and trade good-natured barbs with our loved ones. In-person. Where we can go back to the office and the gym and the salon and all the other places that we never gave a second thought to, before.

In America, we’ve been longing for a President whose agenda has nothing to do with personal gain, but rather, the health and happiness of our country’s citizenry. A President who understands the pain of loss and realizes that so many of his countrymen and women can’t pay their bills or feed their families and are one step away from the streets.

And now we have him, in President-Elect Joe Biden. And the Vice-President-Elect, Kamala Harris, the first woman, not to mention, woman of color, to hold that office, will be the perfect yin to his yang. Finally, a glimmer of hope. A ray of sunshine to light our way through this unrelenting darkness.

But, true to his lack of civility, humility, and anything resembling decency, Donald Trump is refusing to give up without a fight. Lacking in even the modicum of class that it takes to pick up a phone and congratulate the winner, and that is exactly what Biden is, Trump has stayed true to form and has proved himself to be not just a loser, but a sore loser. A childish despot sorely in need of a country and a people to dominate.

There’s always reality TV. In fact, my husband commented that he could see Trump starting is own news network — whatever keeps him in the public eye because that’s what he feeds on.

Certainly, none of us are surprised by his bad behavior, even though we might have hoped that, after all this time and the grueling election that left us all spent, Trump might…might…rise to the occasion and concede with a bit of grace. That’s not going to happen because “grace” is not a part of the Trump lexicon. Not for him, or anyone in his family, sadly. Nor will that grace be a part of his legacy. He’ll be left crushed, in the dirt, where he belongs.

I wrote this story for a very particular reason. There have been comments on this platform and nasty ones without a smidge of credence, criticizing Joe Biden. Really “out there” stuff. And, for some reason, I was drawn into the frey, as I always seem to be. But, even though common sense dictates that I should probably just “consider the source,” and ignore such baseless statements, I have absolutely had it with ignorance and denial. We’ve experienced this dangerous combo for the last four years and we simply cannot take it anymore. Or allow it, for that matter. We must stand up. Just because the election is over doesn’t mean that we should be content with silence. With turning the other cheek.

I feel compelled to defend the President-Elect, not just because I voted for him but because I believe he is a man of decency and humility and will do whatever is necessary to bring this country back to its former greatness. Or rather, “closer” to greatness as people of color here haven’t had it so great.

He’ll do what it takes to get this virus under control and eradicate it, completely. He’ll be a voice for the lost and disenfranchised and those who are struggling to make their rents and mortgages. And he’ll take the necessary steps to heal our ever-worsening environment and this nation as a whole. Steps Trump was too busy golfing to care about. It’s going to take a long time as the damage the sitting President has wrought is widespread and extensive.

Joe Biden’s not a saint. And I’m not insinuating that he is, but I have to tell you, compared with what we’ve become accustomed to, he’s damned close.

So, when people make comments about which they know very little, I have to believe that something else is going on. That they’re hurting, and badly. And possibly, fearful.

Fear masked by anger is something I am intimately familiar with. In one of my screenplays, I’ve noted that the protagonist “gets mean when she gets scared.” At times, that has been me, to a T. We write about what we know, correct? And, not without shame, I admit that I’ve lashed out on several occasions because something or someone scared me.

So, with that said, I’m going to try very hard, to let go of my rancor because I have enough of it on hand for Trump, himself without having to fend off negative comments about our President-Elect.

But, I can’t promise. Because, as I said, “enough is enough.” And even though, in the scheme of things, I’m a “nobody,” just as I used my vote, I will use my voice…my words…to defend Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Finally, I’m all for “agreeing to disagree.” But, it takes two.

Note: I’d like to thank my friend, Estacious(Charles White) for his gentle and classy reminder that for some people in this country, America has not been “great.”

© Sherry McGuinn, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Sherry McGuinn is a slightly-twisted, longtime Chicago-area writer and award-winning screenwriter. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and numerous other publications. Sherry’s manager is currently pitching her newest screenplay, a drama with dark, comedic overtones and inspired by a true story.

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