1. It is okay to feel hopeful in the wake of the ascertainment of the election of President-Elect Joe Biden, thus starting the transition from the catastrophic fuckstorm of Donald Trump's presidency. Everyone who was supposed to do their jobs decided to finally do their jobs, from the state canvassers in Michigan to the General Services Administrator. In one consequential day, we went from "Oh, Christ, this fucker might have a chance to steal this election" to "Thank Christ, this fucker is actually going to be gone." Between that fact and the vaccine light at the end of the COVID tunnel, for the first time in years, it's possible to envision a future. Not a perfect one, not an easy one, but one where there's a chance to move again towards "more perfect," where we take on the difficult tasks like climate change and poverty. No, I'm not blinded by hope to think any of this won't be a daily struggle against people who despise us and with people on our own side who want to do more or do less. But, goddamn, the air feels lighter, less weighted with the miasma of unending despair that has filled our noses and lungs. And it's just fine to enjoy breathing that cool breeze for a bit.
2. It is okay to feel dread for the damage that Trump can and will do over the next two months that he's in office. Trump and the vindictive cuntfleas he has surrounded himself with will seek to undermine the Biden administration in ways trivial and in ways important. Right now, they're wrecking trust in our elections by insisting that this one was corrupt and stolen and that they've lost only because the complicit courts won't let them present their secret evidence or some fucking thing. It doesn't matter. What matters is destroying as much of that nation's faith in the federal government - hell, in all governments run by Democrats - that they can, as well as discrediting voters from people of color who live in those Democratic places. And this sabotage extends to fucking up the United States's place in the world by undermining treaties like Open Skies. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see Trump start a conflict with Iran or break diplomatic ties with an ally or NATO as a pissy middle finger to anyone who questions his idiotic "America First" policy. We can be pretty sure they're all destroying records as quickly as possible, as many as they can get away with, covering up what are likely voluminous numbers of crimes. And we've gotta survive the next two months of inaction on COVID, including underfunded preparation for the vaccine rollout. Yeah, there's a fuckton to dread.
2a. It's okay to feel dread about the future beyond Biden's inauguration because of how much goddamn work is going to need to be done. Start with the fact that the country has tens of millions of Americans who think that the election was rife with fraud, all led by a soon-to-be ex-president who refuses to back down on his bullshit grievances, backed by millions of dollars in donations and support from an unhinged right-wing media machine. There could be violence, although it won't come close to reaching the "civil war" that the most batshit Parler users believe will happen if Trump doesn't somehow defeat the Deep State to be president again. But they are going to be an enormous roadblock to progress because they will keep electing fucknuts and assholes, including the QAnon psychos and other right-wing extremists. Jesus fuckballs, how do we make progress if we're constantly having to deal with people who simply exist in a state of non-reality?
2b. And those Georgia Senate races? Yeah, go ahead and have a bowl of anxiety stew over that shit.
3. It is okay to be okay with Biden's cabinet. My first thought when I saw who Biden was choosing to fill his cabinet and other senior positions in his administration was "I have heard of very few of these people and, goddamn, that makes me happy." Seriously, beyond Janet Yellin and John Kerry, they have had long careers in public service (with some working in the private sector, sure), which means that they have experience and expertise and knowledge and some level of competence and they're not being hired because of some bullshit belief in the superiority of CEOs or generals with cool nicknames or Fox "news" regulars or fucking donors. I love the idea that I won't have to think about them every goddamn day. I won't have to think, "Why the fuck is Ben Carson running anything?" I want them to dig in and do their jobs and not sit around a conference table, praising the president for being awesomely awesome, an ass-kissing ritual that was so frequent and so overwrought that it left Trump with moist buttocks and a chapped anus. It's kind of hilarious that, right now, Republicans are criticizing Biden for choosing people who aren't fucking crazy.
3a. It's also okay to criticize Biden's cabinet picks. Look, I fully believe that it's just useless when the leftier-than-thou crowd is condemning Biden before he's even gotten into office. But I also think the left needs to work to make sure that Biden continues his more progressive tilt since becoming the nominee (and he has moved further left, more than he has in his entire career). So it's okay to say, "Fuck that" to a possible Rahm Emanuel appointment. And it's okay to look at the backgrounds of some of the picks and wonder why so many supporters of the Iraq War are in there. It's okay to look at Avril Haines and wonder how she could have supported torture-enabler Gina Haspel. It's okay to think that Cedric Richmond, whose environmental record is significantly less than decent, isn't right for a position that serves as a liaison on climate change issues.
3b. But, damn, look at us: arguing about positions and ideology instead of "How much will this asshole steal?"
4. It's okay to want Trump and this administration brought to justice. I wrote about my fears that Biden won't do that back last December, and there's much more to say. However, I wouldn't expect any movement on that front until after the Georgia runoffs. You don't want to turn Trump into a MAGA martyr yet. Let's get them to depress the GOP vote so we can possibly get the Senate.
5. Mostly, keep telling yourself this: There will be a January 20th, 2021. There will be a vaccine. And then we gotta put on our work boots and step into the shit to clean it all up.
