This Collect is especially apropos for today, and the days to follow.
"Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."
After four long das, the US Presidential election has been called. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are declared as the next Administration. As I was reminded, there are still some official election-related hoops that must be cleared before January. This is true.
Its been a LONG few days of vote-counting, and the stress that ALL Americans felt was palatable. None of us were " our best selves" as we waited for some sort of closure { the human mind doe not endure open-endedness very well} I said some things on social media that were inappropriate. I apologized.
I was wrong to be ugly with my words. I owned it-- I apologized.
But I cannot help but feel real JOY. While I totally understand party loyalty { after all , I am a Democrat} , it is good to see that enough people put Nation before Party Loyalty. Unlike any other election that I can recall, this one was not a mere political football game. I, and so many others I love had much to lose . To be honest, many Americans still have much that we could lose.
For instance, as a woman, my right to make reproductive choices for myself is no longer a sure reality. yet others I know still lie under the threat of their marriages being declared invalid. Many more of the working poor in this nation can keep their health insurance for now. We are still in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans of all stripes.
As a person of Ashkenazi heritage, I've watched anti -Semitism craw out from under its rocks . While Black and Brown people have been targeted by racists much more than Jews, half of my DNA has put me on high alert . There have been moments in my youth in Northern Appalachia where I have been the recipient of ethnic slurs against Jews.
Many White people simply do not understand how threatening it is to be a minority. I'm not Black, but I can speak as a person of Jewish-America heritage who grew up in rural northern Appalachia. Where I came of age lacked both Black people & Jews. I remember the " N -word" being thrown around by neighbors when my younger brother brought home a Black friend for the weekend. It was damn hard growing up where I did & maintaining the values with which my parents installed in me. In retrospect, I think my Jewish heritage gave me a heart for justice & equality from an early age. Growing up, the only Bible stories I really knew were from the Old Testament-- especially the Torah.
All this to day that, although I am a Democrat, my values are what leads my vote-- and my experience of being a minority reinforces my values that the nation I love must be the land of the free for ALL our people.
To my dear ones who did not vote for Joe Biden, I love you and I see you. It sucks to feel like your political " team" lost-- I know. I hear you and your frustration today. But I also ask that you hear me. think about others who, like me, depend on government-funded health insurance. Think of your Black neighbors who have needlessly lost so many in their communities due to violence. If you, like me are married to a spouse of the opposite gender, please remember that others LEGAL rights to marry the adult they love wasn't always possible.
I do believe that Democrats & Republicans both love this great nation. We , at our best, just see purely political issues { such as deficit spending} differently. Yet when people's civil rights are on the chopping block, that is where I cannot budge. Since this is true I think that we should take this moment to remember how diverse we are.
Go in Peace..
~Sarah
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