Emergent President & Beyond

The whole universe is a dynamic emergent process. Everything is constantly coming into being and passing away. And all this bubbling creation and destruction takes place through the portal of this moment and in this very place. Each thing gives way to the next. There are no permanent solutions or even permanent problems. There is just the ongoing beauty, confusion and mystery of being itself appearing now as this, now as that. Sometimes we say it’s going well, sometimes we cry out in despair. All this is included in the wondrous and terrible flowing and frothing of all things.

It looks like Joe Biden will become the next President of the United States. As of this Saturday morning four days after the election, the race has not been called, but Biden is leading in four key states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona. His leads range from 0.1% to 1.8% with between 93% and 98% of the votes cast. Paper-thin leads, but most have been holding fast or even growing as the remaining ballots continue to be counted. Winning Pennsylvania alone would award him the number of Electoral votes he needs to be elected President.

The popular vote is not nearly as close as the votes in these battleground states. Joe Biden has so far received 74,391,033 (50.5%) votes to Trump’s 70,206,299 (47.7%). That’s four million more votes for Biden than for Trump! Late Friday night Biden gave an update of the ongoing counting and said ‘We’re going to win this race with a clear majority of the nation behind us.’ He continued to urge patience as the counting played itself out, but he was clear and optimistic. Within his campaign, transition planning is beginning in earnest, especially mapping out a new coordinated response to the enlarging coronavirus crisis. (In an ironic side note, Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows and several other White House staffers have just been diagnosed with the virus.)

I am delighted and cautiously relieved that the voting and counting process is proceeding in good order. Many, including Joe Biden’s campaign, thought the remaining states would be ‘called’ by news agencies yesterday, but that didn’t happen. Perhaps today or we may have to wait a few more days. With the stakes so high and the margins so thin, an abundance of caution makes sense.

In spite of Biden’s clear lead in the popular vote and likely victory, our nation remains deeply divided. The hyper-segmentation of news and internet information means that the stories we are living about ourselves and each other are radically different. Reasonable people are caught up in a web of conspiracy theories and fears that are perfectly supported by an information bubble that reinforces itself. The resentment and bigotry that Trump has masterfully stoked for four years will not disappear overnight. It is a part of us all.

Over the past four years, many of us have come to see more clearly the injustice, bigotry and violence that are woven into the fabric of our society. Our self-image as a nation of freedom and justice has been appropriately shaken. All of us are, in some way, responsible for this. We have all been blind to so much. As we rejoice in the likely transfer of the Presidency, we must continue to listen deeply to voices we have not valued. This includes people of all colors and creeds—people who may look and speak differently from us. It includes people who supported different Presidential candidates and have fears and beliefs that seem irrational to us.

How do we begin to acknowledge and heal the grievous wounds we all bear? How do we come to terms with the fact that so many of us have benefited from the injustice and violence we have not wanted to see? How do we deal with our fears of this new emerging world which is so different from the world in which we grew up? How do we create lives of meaning and dignity for ourselves and for each other? How do we form a new relationship with our fragile and failing environment?

These questions and others have no easy solutions, but as we turn toward them with humility and clear intention, perhaps we can together allow the bubbling flow of life to teach and lead us into what comes next.

Waiting and Watching and Hoping

Five a.m. Friday, November 6, 2020: As of five minutes ago, Joe Biden has finally (and as predicted) overtaken Donald Trump after a long night of counting ballots in Georgia. In that traditionally Republican state Biden is now 917 votes in the lead out of 4.9 million votes already cast and 2% left to go. Unbelievably close.

As I write this, Biden stands at 253 Electoral votes with Trump at 214. 270 is the magic number with 71 votes remaining to be allocated from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Alaska. If Biden wins any two of these he will win the Presidency. (The AP has already called Arizona for Biden, but the NY Times, my primary news source, has not.)

But the count continues. Biden urges patience with the process. Trump fumes, lies and tries to stop the counting—the counting that seems to be inexorably signaling the end of his elected power. And the rest of us muddle through trying to glean useful bits of information as they trickle through the fire-hose of news and information sources.

At this point nationally, Biden has won 50.5% of the votes cast and Trump has won only 47.7. In national politics, this is a significant difference. Four years ago, to Trump’s everlasting shame, Clinton actually won 48.2% to Trump won 46.1%, but due to the structure of the Electoral College, lost the election. But this year, even with the Electoral College structure favoring Republicans, Biden is poised for victory.

One of the most encouraging signs of the past twenty-four hours was the fact that when Trump called a press conference last night and began rambling on about baseless claims of voter fraud and ballot suppression, ABC, NBC and CBS all cut away from the press conference. I do not believe this President has the capacity to accept defeat. He will continue to lash out against any part of reality that does not agree with his wishes. Trying to stop him or question him or counter with reasonable arguments does not work. Like a spoiled child, even giving him negative attention only prolongs the tantrum and encourages the behavior. But turning the cameras away, turning our attention away, this is the only effective strategy for someone so lost in their own pain and delusion. And some of the major networks did this last night.

In fitting contrast, Biden, along with urging patience for the ‘sometimes messy’ process of democracy, gave a briefing on the coronavirus which infected more than 121,000 people in the United States on Thursday, a record number with cases. Our viral pandemic is escalating in dangerous ways, apparently not believing Trump’s prediction that it would all disappear after election day. So Biden is beginning the enormous job he is (hopefully) about to take on.

But patience is still the order of the day. Patience is often thought of as an old-fashioned value. We are supposed to be confident and assertive. We are encouraged to have a clear plan and to make things happen. We are supposed to be in charge of ourselves and, if we can, of those around us. But life doesn’t really work that way.

In spite of all our efforts, the world and events happen in their own time. Of course we can do things that support or hinder the unfolding of events, but there is a larger pattern of rising and falling that is as dependable as it is unpredictable. And the counting of the votes will take exactly as long as it takes.

A commentator recently used the image of being strapped into a roller coaster to describe why many of us are feeling so anxious around this extended election. ‘It’s like you’re headed up to the top, you know the drop is coming and there’s nothing you can do.’ Being a contrarian at heart, I immediately thought of all the possibilities available to you in that situation—the most fun one being to get ready to throw your hands in the air, scream and have a wonderful ride down.

On second reflection, however, I thought that this image of being strapped in a roller coaster is a reasonably accurate description of being human. Our lives, even our vital signs, are a wave function. Guaranteed. No exception. If you find yourself in the body of a human being who can read and understand these words, there is no way to avoid the ups and downs of life. And these ups and downs can be accurately predicted to come at their own time, not necessarily when it’s convenient for you.

This is the bad news and the good news. The bad news is that there is no escape. There is no life without confusion, difficulty and pain. The good news is that when we take the larger view and accept these things instead of fighting them, life expands and eases—right in the middle of the ups and downs.

The election will be called in the next few days. If Biden wins, even by the narrowest of margins, those of us who supported him should be elated—just as Trump’s followers were delighted with his victory four years ago. We should celebrate and breathe a sigh of relief. Briefly. Then we should turn our attention back to the larger and longer struggle ahead.

Turning toward the challenges and possibilities is what we, as humans, are made to do. We are hard-wired to want to give our gifts in service of the world. To work on something important with people we love is a deep joy. It is not easy or straightforward. There are many setbacks and losses along the way. But the world calls to each of us to step forward and make a difference.

6:10 a.m. – Biden’s lead in Georgia is now 1,096. And so it goes.

The Day After the Day After

I’m bleary and my head aches as I wake up this morning. I spent what seemed like several hours in the middle of last night doing my small solipsistic part to solve the problems of the country. I don’t think I made much progress, but my mind would not give up until exhaustion set in.

Biden seems to be on a narrow path to victory and calls for patience until all the votes are counted. Trump continues his specious claims of victory, reports of imaginary voter fraud and attempts to stop the late vote counting that seems likely to put Biden over the top.

I am encouraged that the vote counting continues as planned and that Biden appears to be poised to gain the electoral college votes necessary to become our next President. It’s comforting to know that Biden has already received more votes than any Presidential candidate in the history of our country. He has not run a particularly inspiring campaign but Biden seems to be a genuinely compassionate human being who has a deep sense of responsibility to our country and our collective future.

On election night, one pundit observed that Donald Trump is the greatest fund-raiser and motivator in the history of the Democratic party. Trump has indeed aroused the passions on both sides. A record turn-out for this election. While many of us hoped the Democrats would be motivated to come out, none of the polls predicted the level of support Trump has received this election—seemingly above his anemic approval ratings that have never reached above 50% at any point in his Presidency.

And so we wait.

I was going to go carry a ‘PROTECT THE VOTE’ sign yesterday afternoon, but ended up deciding that going shopping was a better choice. I honked supportively as I passed the handful of people holding signs in front of the Friends Meeting House on Pleasant Street. I felt slightly guilty, but also somewhat confident that indeed the votes are being counted. So, for now, I have postponed taking to the streets. (Whatever that may mean or whenever that may truly be necessary.)

Now, as we wait, the ongoing conversation is about what this vote says about America. The polarization is vivid. We should, however, remember that a few percentage points swing in either way would turn the election into a ‘landslide.’ Victory is a funny thing. In our democracy, power shifts from one party to the other based on the smallest margins. And like the football team that wins by one or two points, the victor goes on to talk about their superiority that is actually based on the random bounce of an oddly shaped ball.

Robert Hubbell maintains that the Trump message resonating with so many voters is: “The privileged past was better for you, the future is frightening and uncertain.” The dream of the good old days is a powerful one. Based on both truth and imagination it creates a powerful, and ultimately unrealistic, nostalgia. When we focus too much on how things were we have less capacity to meet the challenges and bear the difficulty of the moment.

The future, and indeed the present, is frightening and uncertain. The work for all of us is to see as clearly as we can the challenges and possibilities of what is happening right now. This requires us to see things about ourselves and our unintended impacts that are painful and dispiriting. But until we see our current reality more clearly, we cannot move toward the dreams, principles and values that call to us all.

Advice for the day:

1) Feel your feelings,
2) Remember your purpose, and
3) Take the next step.

Election Hangover

I had hoped for a blue wave and a clear Biden victory though I knew the odds were small. As I write this at 5:30 a.m. on November 4th, the Presidential election is too close to call and looks like it will remain this way for several days. And, as predicted, Trump is making wild claims and threatening to go to the Supreme Court to claim his rightful victory before all the votes are counted.

I am incredibly disappointed that the election is this close. Trump, in my eyes, for the past four years, has so clearly mounted an all-out attack on our democratic institutions, has used whatever means at hand to enrich himself and his corrupt friends, has weakened our country internally through sowing discord and hatred, and diminished our national standing in the whole world. I am amazed and astonished that nearly half of the electorate still prefer him to Joe Bidden.

Biden may still be our next President, but the division in our country, the alienation from the news reported and fact-checked by mainstream media is deep and visceral. The chasm between red and blue America is wide and vast. How will we ever come together? Have the internet and the news bubbles so easily created and maintained brought us to parallel stories of reality that will never intersect? Trump’s continual and self-serving assault on the verifiable truth is still supported (or at least tolerated) by a huge swath of our country.

I heard Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Senator from Massachusetts and former Presidential hopeful, interviewed on the radio yesterday afternoon. She had just voted in person at her local elementary school and enthused about filling in the little bubbles on the ballot as a real-time demonstration of democracy at work. The good news this morning is that the election still happened, that the turnout was at historic levels and that the predicted violence did not happen. This is good news for all of us.

Warren was optimistic, as were all Democrats interviewed yesterday that Biden would win and the Senate would shift blue. I haven’t yet looked deeply into the news, but it looks like the Senate will remain in Republican control. Despite the huge amounts of money contributed to defeat Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell, both of these staunch Trump enablers have retained their seats.

But Warren also made a clear call for continued activism. Even in her dream of a Bidden Presidency and a blue Senate, she called for all of us to remain engaged. Democracy is not a spectator sport that happens every two or four years. The real work of our society—dealing with the pandemic, institutional racism, income inequality, opiate addiction and environmental degradation—all these are ongoing and deeply challenging issues. Warren called us all to stay engaged for the long haul, whatever the outcome.

There was some other thing I saw as a positive development. What was it? It’s fled my mind along with the fantasy of a dramatic shift in the tone and complexion of our government. Now I remember, it was the appearance of the news analysts on PBS last night. We don’t get cable so I didn’t see the other networks, but the analysts on PBS seemed to be at least half or more women. Brown and black people were also prominently visible. I’m sure someone will do the exact counting and comparing, but to see and hear significantly more diversity, even at PBS, is a heartening sign.

I’ll close this morning with the words of Richard Hubbell, who sends out a daily newsletter of information, perspective and inspiration that I find reassuring:

We must maintain our resolve. During difficult periods in the last four years, I have invoked the memory of the late Congressman John Lewis. As a young man, he marched with other brave men and women who sought to bring attention to the need to guarantee voting rights for Black Americans. Lewis, along with dozens of others, was brutally beaten while attempting to peacefully walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge near Birmingham. Lewis’s skull was fractured, and he spent several days in the hospital. When he was discharged from the hospital, he rejoined his colleagues for a second march across the bridge. John Lewis did that for us, so that we could vote today. His act was selfless and forward-looking. He was a prophet of a future not yet fully realized, but one that is inexorably approaching because men and women like John Lewis were able to transcend the moment. John Lewis did not give up, did not feel sorry for himself, did not bemoan his circumstance, did not calculate the odds, did not stay in the fight only if he was winning. When he died, John Lewis was eulogized by three American presidents. Those who beat him are remembered today as symbols of the ugly legacy of slavery.

While we are waiting for votes to be counted after a surprisingly peaceful and uneventful Election Day, we must not give up, we must not feel sorry for ourselves, we must not bemoan our circumstance, we must not calculate the odds, we must not stay in the fight only if we are winning. Through our activism and resistance, we have become prophets of a future not yet fully realized. But it is the future that is rushing inexorably towards us because of our efforts over the last four years.

Let us take our role as prophets of the future seriously—for our children and grandchildren. Let us continue to work toward a just, equitable and sustainable future for all. Let us not measure our actions by the yardstick of momentary victories and setbacks, but by the importance of the goals we cherish. Let our actions reflect our highest aspirations and our words spring from the deepest and fiercest love we know.

Election Day Tips

Election day. A cold rain is coming down in the early morning dark here in central Massachusetts. In a few hours, I’m going to vote: carefully and in person. I’m going to vote in the election that both sides are calling the most important Presidential election of our time. Certainly the choice of candidates is stark and many of us are anxious both about the process and the results.

Relentless media coverage will continue through the day, will amp up around seven or eight and will carry on through the night. There are a few key states, like Florida, that will have early returns so there may be some early indication of final results, but votes will continue to be collected, counted and verified over a period of days and weeks. We will not know who won the popular vote for some time.

I fully expect Donald Trump, if he is ahead at any point in the count this evening, to declare victory and to do everything in his power to stop the further counting of votes. We all need to brace for this likelihood as well as for his other specious claims and insults. We all must do everything in our power to ensure that any illegal actions he encourages or orders through his tweets and rants remain just the final howls of a defeated strong-man. I hope that true Republicans at every level will join with the rest of us in defending the values of our democracy rather than bowing down to the outrageous demands of a want-to-be dictator who refuses any truth, however blatant, that does not give him what he wants.

We’re in for difficult times ahead.

I’m hoping for the best—a landslide victory for Joe Biden, a Democratic Senate and a relatively peaceful transfer of power. But I have also located a few socially distanced local gatherings on Wednesday to support the ongoing vote count and democratic process. I have also talked to most of my pandemic ‘bubble-mates’ about my intentions, as every exposure risk I take is a risk for each person in my bubble. (If you’re looking for actions in your area ChooseDemocracy.us is a reliable site that is providing resources to support organizing around nonviolent proactive measures to ensure our democratic processes are honored.)

In the meantime, there are a lot of minutes and hours—and probably days, weeks and even months of uncertainty ahead. How do we live in a world where our future feels so precarious? How do we live with a level of fear and potential violence that is utterly unfamiliar for many of us? And all this in the midst of a pandemic that not only is continuing but is rising with no end in sight?

A few tips that may help:
1) Take time to shrink your field of attention. Staying current and informed are important, but the daily acts of living are equally important. Detach yourself from your news device and turn to the immediate world around you—the running water that comes out of your faucet, the smell of coffee brewing, the way the morning light slowly illuminates the view from the window, the sensation of the breath that has so faithfully sustained your life all these years. Just this.

2) Appreciate the people in your life. (Even the difficult ones.) Whether you live alone or with others, we all have people in our lives that are actually part of who we are. Take time to notice and appreciate those people, near and far. There is no such thing and an ‘individual’ human being. We are all (even you) part of an intricate network of relationships of mutual nourishment as we rub up against each other, irritate and delight each other—both in person and afar. (As I write this, I am aware that even my dead father is still a part of my life–still sustaining and troubling me.)

3) Give yourself to what you are doing in the moment. We often suppose that the meaning of our life is somewhere else. But life only happens in this place where we are. Don’t hold back and wait for things to settle down. I don’t think that is going to happen, and even if it does, you might not be here to enjoy it. The precious gift of life is happening right where you are, don’t miss it.

4) Stay informed, but limit your intake of news. Constant consumption will serve the interests of media moguls who measure success in eyeballs on the screen, but will not serve you or your country. When you do watch, appreciate being entertained, informed, outraged, contradicted and confirmed. Media consumption at a time like this is a roller coaster guaranteed to stimulate and disturb you. When you do turn it on, prepare yourself for the ride and have an exit strategy in mind.

5) Consider that this is the time you were born for. All your life has led up to this point and you have the resources and skills to make a difference right here. You may not yet know what it is you are called to do. It may be much smaller or much larger than you had ever imagined. But your thoughts, words and actions have impact beyond what you can know. Stay awake to the possibilities and opportunities of this turbulent time.