it’s november 9th – what are you going to do about it?

(It’s 9:00pm west coast, and it looks like Donald Trump will win… results are coming in)

I’m taking a break from watching what seems to be more and more likely: President Elect Trump. Numerous states have not closed but the odds are increasing that in January of 2017 we will have a Trump executive branch, a GOP senate, and a GOP house. Coupled with GOP appointments to the Supreme Court.

For those opposed to Trump, there will be soul searching. There will be rage. There will be anger at Hillary Clinton: why couldn’t Sanders have run and possibly won? There will be a general hangover that will cloud the minds of anyone who did not support Donald Trump.

But tonight, before you go to sleep, I want you to think about this. Edman Vance Cook:

It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there — that’s disgrace.

By all means, feel like shit for a while. Be angry at the racists, misogynists, and bigots. Forget the long arc of American progress that by any measure has, over the long run, improved the outlook of every segment of our society. Believe that it’s all over and America as we know it is gone forever.

Then get up off the floor.

I try not to patronize as a general rule, but when someone prays for something, it’s hard for me to hold my tongue. You go pray for a sandwich and I’ll head to the kitchen and open the fridge: let’s see who eats first. Work is what fixes things, and nothing else.

I know decent and kind people who are Trump supporters. You may not want to handle that reality, but it’s true. It’s hard to square that with the anti-semites and xenophobes who also support him. Painting them all with a brush that spans half the country is much easier on the mind.

But a very large chunk of American society thinks that Donald Trump is the answer to their problems. Two things that won’t help the matter: (1) Your mockery of them and (2) you sitting on your ass.

I care about this country because I, like you, benefit from a long line of people of who put their nation first. Today is the day when you determine what you’ll spend your evenings on: Hulu, Facebook, or America.

Be mad. Feel let down. And when you’re done doing all of that please join me in putting this country back on the arc it has always managed to stay on: one that allows us to provide equality and opportunity moreso today than we did yesterday.

Our leaders are really our followers as they embrace ideas that have already come to fruition across our nation. We the people, as corny as that sounds, must now dig in for the long fight. There will be no trophies, and there will be no glory. While we work we will witness the bad ideas of others come to fruition that will hurt decent Americans.

And in this work is our opportunity to grab the helm and aim our nation towards a future we can be proud of. Together, we can do this. I’m starting tomorrow, and I hope you will join me.