In the darkest days of November and January, when it seemed like evil and fascism could win, this would have been a very different entry. I remember the mantra we all kept repeating--lest we get too negative, too depressed, over the possible results, the corruption that could eat democracy. Trust the system. Trust the system. And in, essence, we did and the system worked. Or at least sort of. The capitol breach and all the Fox news fueled nonsense is still there, but reason and science, at least, if not true progressivism, triumphed when it seemed the deck was endlessly stacked--by gerrymandering, by big corps and rich men. By rabid masses of Karens and camouflaged terrorists. The votes don't lie--the system worked as intended and the good guys (or the good-er) guys won. Angry white men get angrier and angrier. Certain people in my family (but are they?) still fly Trump flags and deny covid is/was a thing. Still spout quotes directly off their fucked up news outlets--the conservative media machines that still churn and churn.
And of course, all systems are suspect. The criminal justice system. The educational system. I can't say I always believe systems have everybody's best interest in mind. So many systems themselves a stacked deck--against the poor, against everyone who is not white and male. But if I am ever going to be close to being a proud American on the 4th of Juy, it might be this year of all years. The year in which we same close to losing democracy could perhaps be the year I most readily celebrate it. This very imperfect country that, always, needs to do better. To be better. But the election , if anything, showed we are trying. Or at least slightly more than half are trying, and in the darker days of 2020, I doubted that was true.
I've never watched a presidential inauguration in my whole life, but I watched this one, and I believed every word from Amanda Gorman's mouth. The evil and facism is still there, still festering at the edges, but I suppose we can at least take comfort that it's not festering at the podium as it did for so many years. When I take the year since into view, it was a crazy one in which we saw things we never thought we would. But also one where reason and science are now being respected, where everyone who wants the vaccine is on the way to getting one if not already safe. Where I actually have faith my leaders are not trying to kill me. Are trying to do better. To be better. I've no doubt the America hitting this birthday is a better one than the last. They placed a huge, huge flag on the side of the Wrigley building downtown over the river and my first impulse on seeing it wasn't revulsion, but something like hope, so that's something...
