Several months ago, in the lead-up to the most recent Most Important Election of Our Lifetime, I wondered out loud whether we should choose the uncertain wish for hope and joy or the very real promise of bleak despair. These were the options that were being presented to us, and the choice seemed pretty clear. I know I don’t need to tell you which alternative won out, but I will anyway. It wasn’t hope and joy.
So here we are today, living in a landscape carved from bleak despair, bleaker than most people anticipated. And we’re navigating through a darkness that descended on us with a startling speed, outperforming nearly everyone’s—even the most cynical—predictions. Leading some people to cry, “We did not think things would be like this!” Or “How is this happening?” While others declare, “I didn’t vote for this!”
