Bill Simons
Finally the day came – deep breath, great joy.
Earthquake, big reckoning.
Our brutal, relentless fever is finally breaking.
America, reborn.
The goodness of this land is not lost.
Liberty’s fragile, battered ship returns to port.
No, it’s not yet time to hum, “Happy Days Are Here Again!”
No, this is certainly not another Gettysburg or landing on a French beach.
It just feels that way.
There’s a pastor from Kansas, a seminarian from Texas, the first black female governor ever, a rude Muslim, an Iowan in a wheelchair, a pediatrician, a distraught Latino mother, a gay governor, a raging Maine logger, and a John Lewis-inspired Georgian who could be our next president.
Goodness, even South Carolina is bathed in blue. As McEnroe would say, “You can’t be serious.”
Fresh faces, hope on hate. generational change, the bully retreats. Hayley Stevens’ trick failed. Not Musk’s money, the tired trans attacks, the usual racism, and the pathetic ads in Ohio, Michigan, and everywhere else.
I remember the noble martyrs, Rene Goode and Alex Pretty, and the outraged, brave people of Minneapolis.
Many are a pig in Mamdani. But with courage, bold thoughts and a smile, he inspired. The message of non-kings was important.
Millions of people marched. Many jumped into the fray. So many people worked so hard.
For a very long time, I wasn’t sure that Martin Luther King was right. Now I know that his compass was true; “The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Talarico’s “Love Thy Neighbor” victory speech, with its generous spirituality and radical inclusiveness, brought to mind David and Goliath, a story my mother loved.
The work is not done. But on this mighty day the better angels of our nature prevailed.
