I am satisfied that Joseph Robinette Biden is president. He was not my choice, but I believe he will try to work for the many, not just the few. Still, I am tired of white men running things. A text conversation with two of my loved ones today has me itchy for similar reasons. They each shared a ‘feel good’ article about individuals reaching across the political divide 1 2. The people in the articles have come to respect and care about each other, but remain unmoved in terms of the political divide.
It is a good and right thing to promote understanding and peace in the world, but at the end of the day if the systems of power remain unchanged then great swaths of people remain oppressed. After spending the better part of two years strengthening a relationship with someone who was across the political divide from me and watching that person vote for people who believe his gay child’s rights should be abridged, my reproductive rights should be abridged, his parents disability needs should be ignored, that public education should be torn down, that police are good people and therefore they don’t need to held accountable, I’m done spending my energy on that Sisyphean task. I want to spend my energies trying to support causes and people who are speaking strongly in favor of basic human rights and the environment.
I do not have a need to demonize people who don’t agree with me, but I can’t allocate my resources to a task that sees nothing change for people who are suffering and dying or that makes the climate worse. I no longer want to be Sisyphus, give me Circe any day.
1One county, worlds apart: Bridging the political divide https://apnews.com/article/1ca9c76a48b5b20371ae6491e425d184
2He saw her marriage as ‘unnatural’. She called him ‘bigoted’. Now, they hug. https://apnews.com/article/1ca9c76a48b5b20371ae6491e425d184
3 Circe by Madeline Miller http://madelinemiller.com/circe/
abundance, joy and magic 