Keep On Keeping On
Dear Leading Ladies
Some of us are still licking our wounds. Some are still shocked and in disbelief. All of us are horrified that more than half the voters in our country chose for their leader a man who speaks vulgarly about women and veterans and immigrants and so many others. Horrified that the most powerful head of state in the world is a convicted felon who wants to rule with impunity, overrun the system of checks and balances in our federal system, and deny basic rights to many law-abiding citizens.
But here we are. So what should we do next?
Dwelling on what went wrong seems to be the preferred route of the press and the pundits.
They will be unraveling what happened for the next few years. Book deals are being made behind closed doors even as we write. President Biden will take the fall for not getting out of the race sooner. The Democrats will take the blame for not articulating their accomplishments for the working class louder and with more clarity. Vice President Harris will be accused of being too close to Biden or not close enough; too Black or not Black enough; too centrist or too liberal. Some will say the Democrats were tone deaf to middle America or to Latinos and Blacks; others will say our country is just not ready for a woman president, let alone a Black woman president. The misogyny and racism in our country, they say, run deeper than we want to believe.
The media is receiving its share of blame, too. With social media (Facebook, X, Truth Social, television, and more) presenting endless information 24/7, often from totally unvetted sources, readers are bombarded with enticing stimuli that satisfy short attention spans. Too often, sources create headlines that are incendiary, misleading, seductive, leading readers to go no deeper than the first few words or lines. When people rely on small news bytes as their major source of information, they do not see the whole picture. And when their information is both unsubstantiated and biased and comes from unreliable sources, people are ingesting not only incomplete but also false information. Then they spread it around. It’s the old game of “Telephone” gone rogue.
When searching for answers, historians are looking at the long picture and seeing the seeds of this election in the past. The appeal of Trump was foretold, they say, just as the turn to the right is being seen and echoed in many European countries where immigrants, especially those of dark complexion, are being blamed for the economic woes of the native born.
And let’s not forget the Republican candidate himself. We have never before had a candidate for president who has lied as much and misled, deceived and appealed to the lowest standards of morality and decency, rather than express and model examples of ethics and values for his constituency to follow. Former candidates have often been far from perfect, but never has one appealed to the polar opposite of our better angels.
Okay, so it’s clear there are a lot of reasons why the Democratic candidate lost and knowing the reasons won’t change anything for the next four years in the White House. As many of the people who voted for President-elect Trump may suffer under his administration, they may soon have buyer’s remorse. As the Democrats regroup, they may decide they need to deliver their messages more effectively, listen better to the concerns of the electorate (“it’s the economy, stupid”), and develop better ways to unify their very pluralistic party.
But what about the rest of us who feel so strongly about matters such as a woman’s right to choose; sensible gun control laws; equal access to quality education and medical care; affordable housing; humane immigration policies; and the environment?
All we can do is keep on keeping on. Educate ourselves and others. Get involved locally as volunteers on school committees and in town and city efforts in the areas of conservation, environmentalism, affordable housing, gun control, classroom curricula, LGBTQ+ equality, shelter for the homeless, support for victims of abuse, and anti-racism.
And support organizations such as Planned Parenthood; Moms Demand Action; March for Our Lives; The Nature Conservancy; Clean Air Task Force; the Environmental Defense Fund; Habitat for Humanity; the Community Based Housing Fund; and others. Always check Charity Navigator before donating to any organization. Don’t forget our local organizations…Beverly Bootstraps, HAWC, The REAL Program, Harborlight Homes, Change is Simple and others.
One last matter. We have received questions about how exactly Trump could make abortion illegal throughout the country, since several states have laws in place that support a woman’s right to choose and ten more states passed similar ballot measures in last week’s election. The passing of those ballot measures should not give anyone a false sense of security. Although Trump has claimed he would not support a federal ban and wants to leave the matter to the states, he has flip-flopped on the issue several times. Moreover, the president-elect could virtually ban abortions nationwide without any legislative action by invoking the Comstock Act, an 1873 federal law that makes it a “federal crime to send or receive drugs or other materials designed for abortions in the mail,” according to CNBC. “Trump’s administration could use the act to block the shipment and distribution of abortion pills and potentially any medical equipment used in abortion procedures, such as dilators and suction catheters, preventing doctors from performing abortions at hospitals, according to Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics.” An anti-abortion attorney general would have to be on board for this to occur, but that should present no hurdle in a Trump administration. Vice President-elect Vance and the writers of Project 2025 already support invoking the Comstock Act.
We need to take care of ourselves and take care of those who will suffer most from the sanctions and policies that may be administered by the new president’s administration.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team