I am so saddened by the election results. I don't think many people thought it all the way through-they couldn't have.
We gathered at Katy's to celebrate electing the first female president, then sat stunned as the numbers came in. Afterward, it was as if someone had died. There were tears, some in anger, some fear, but mostly sadness. We slept a little while and this morning sat outside in the sun with our tea mugs and tried to work it out. More tears when we found out she'd won the popular vote.
I came home still in my pajamas while Matt went to work late, despite warnings from coworkers that it was like a pep rally. When I tried to talk to Jake about it, I broke down again and decided to do something. A start. So, I gave Murphy a bath and trimmed him up. I got all the kid books out of Ben's room. I wrote a review about the socks I tried out last month. I worked out the last details for sea lab. I planned a hike, invited people to camp with me. I joined other women online to discuss plans for the 2018 election and the 2020 one. We all got countdown clocks, less than 4 years already. Somehow, that helped.
And under it all, I hope. I hope that he won't demolish foreign relations and the environment, that we can get some control back in there in 2018 and stem the tide while he spins his wheels the first year or two backtracking on his empty promises.
This is what I DO NOT understand about the whole thing. He got elected largely because people blocked everything but his assurances he'd overturn abortion rights. They want the mothers to be forced to carry the baby to term. But they don't want to provide heath care, low income housing, child care, welfare, help with education expenses or any other form of assistance to the very women, WOMEN because the man can walk away, that they are making these decisions for. They don't even want to give them a place to go to get birth control to avoid pregnancy in the first place. Women are supposed to submit to groping, being rated, being judged, being sex objects but NOT having sex outside of a marriage that also includes health care and a savings account. I don't understand. That takes away a woman's right to choose before it even begins.
