And Eight Years Later

And eight years later - he has been re-elected.

Yesterday, unlike eight years ago, I didn’t put on my pantsuit and pearls. When someone asked me yesterday morning for any bold election predictions, I didn’t share my true thoughts.

I knew he was going to win.

I had a brief moment of hope when Tim Walz was selected to run with Kamala Harris. Because I felt the Democratic party had finally heard us - that rural Americans feel abandoned. Rustbelt cities feel abandoned.

But as I watched as we devolved into arguments about Gaza, the economy, and basic human rights, I knew we’d lost again.

No amount of momentum was going to overcome seventy years of distrust in the American ruling class.

Today is much different for me than eight years ago. Back then, on that day I dedicated myself to trying to fix my party, the only political party seeming to be operational - the Democratic party. Yes, I hated so much about the Democrats - Madigan, gerrymandering, haggling. But instead of throwing a tantrum like the Eastern Bloc Republicans down south, I decided that day to join the party and change it.

It’s taken many years and a lot of personal growth to realize that instead, they changed me.

After many candidate and political trainings, conferences, dinner fundraisers - I realized far too late that I was being polished to fit into the Democratic party elites plans. They saw potential in me - to either help or harm - and decided to help polish up my rough edges to make me electable.

This is all very rich, considering that in actuality, the only plan either political party is holding onto power for power’s sake. The Democrats rallied the troops to win - but again had no real plan. There was a lingering waft of “let’s return to normalcy,” through the last months of this campaign. But when was it normal? Or rather, when were things in America actually going well overall? Was it when Bill Clinton was president and helped corporations with their exodus after NAFTA?

Or was it more recently, when Barack Obama said we needed hope and change? I was there in Springfield that day, too. And I was devastated when even he wasn’t able to make substantial change.

So.

What do I do now?

What do WE do now?

For me - yesterday felt like America was visiting a dying relative, congregating at the polling place to reminisce and pray for change one last time.

And at 5:00 am, I was awake when the time of death arrived.

Yesterday, I thought the death was for the Republican party. I went to sit on the banks of Lincoln’s Sangamon River and mourn with him. I hope he enjoyed his libations.

But, I think I was wrong, though. I think yesterday was the death of the current American Party System.

Between the GOP being reanimated as Trumpism and the Democrats refusing to listen to primary voters over and over again, both parties in my opinion have lost their meaning and purpose. Neither party is willing to truly do what is needed to actually solve problems, nor even talk about it with an opposing party without hateful words.

The system is broken, so broken I don’t think we can fix it within our current boundaries. Does that mean revolution? That we allow autocrats to take over because decrees are so much easier to comply with than negotiating change?

No.

What do Americans - real Americans - do when there’s a problem?

We fucking fix it.

Lately, as through most documented history, the only way to fix it now is in our communities. We just saw a bittersweet reminder of this with the 2024 hurricane damage on our southeast coast.

Country boys and girls pulling up to drag railroad ties across a temporary bridge for supplies. A green, composting friend bringing neighbors fresh food while refrigeration was still out.

We Americans get shit done, even when the government is old, clunky, slow, underfunded, and divided.

Why do we need a political party or two to chastise us for complaining about actual issues when they fail to prepare or make mistakes? Especially when those running for president raised literal billions to just get elected during the same time period?

So today, eight years later, I’ve made a few decisions.

I’m done feeling guilty about the death of the Democratic and Republican parties. As with any relative after they’ve died, they played their role in our story, but it is clear that they cannot any longer.

Nope. Today, I’m re-dedicating my work to those that deserve it.

Our kids.

Because today, our kids are scared. They have no say in the future we are creating for them, at least right now.

I’m going to go back to work trying to solve problems within our broken system and highlighting ways to improve it. I’m going to do that at least in my free time with Sunshine Strategies. And if you’d like to join me on this journey, you can sign up on our website. It’s clear that a part of our mission of empowering communities to support families will include a parent component.

I’m also re-dedicating myself to identifying what it means when we say we are “American.” So far for me, being American means never stopping the fight to be more just, equitable, and productive for all Americans, regardless of how they got here or who they are.

And I hope y’all are ready to raise a little hell. Because these next few years, we all are going to have to. From showing up at a school board meeting to running for congress - being an American includes showing up, asking questions, and fixing the damn thing.

For me, I’m sure as hell American.

I hope you are, too.

J