That Saturday Morning Election Moment

You probably remember the moment you heard Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 presidential election.  I certainly do.  I jumped, laughed, danced, cried, kissed my partner, and blasted Cheryl Lynn’s Got to Be Real because nothing and no one was going to take that moment from me. 

The anxiety of the four days prior kept us all, to some degree, preoccupied and hypervigilant.  We’ve come to know uncertainty all too well this year and waiting for the election results felt like the ultimate test.  This waiting period was not just agonizing because we were craving a final result, it was because that result would dictate so much about our lives and futures.  I created space for my clients to wonder things like: will my same-sex marriage be honored?  Is my family’s path to citizenship at risk?  Can I feel safe having my Black baby in this country?  Do my parents have to jeopardize their lives to go to their grocery store where no one wears masks?

Let’s be real: these questions remain unanswered.  A Biden-Harris presidency will not uproot the systemic racism and white supremacy that permeates the blood and bones of our country.  It does not solve the immigration monolith or cure us of the devastation of the pandemic.  It certainly does not wholly protect LGBTQ+ rights against a 6-3 Supreme Court.  I know Biden’s lip service to Black constituents and trans people was obligatory given the current zeitgeist and I’ve been conditioned to expect very little from such statements.  I also know 72 million people are not celebrating right now.  But this is an article about joy so I’m going to quiet my cynicism and return to the moment. 

That Saturday morning election moment provided a glimpse of hope that maybe - we would be safe.  It was a moment many of us snatched, held onto, and claimed as our own.  It was a moment of unfamiliar joy in a time of so much pain.  Tired Americans finally gave themselves permission to celebrate.  In becoming the first woman and Black, South Asian woman to assume the vice presidency, Kamala Harris showcased the possibilities of shifting from surviving to thriving.  Representation matters.

Joy can exist amidst suffering.  You can connect with these moments even when a pandemic is raging and you are carrying all of your own personal pain.  Limiting yourself from pleasure and joy while you grieve does not make you a more honorable person.  Don’t wait for things to “get better” or “be over”.  Recognize these small moments and snatch them up as quickly as you can.  

And remember: this is not a passive celebration.  We must harness all of the powerful resistance energy that has accumulated over the past year and see that there are a few less doors to kick down on the way to justice.