I am anguished, I am heartbroken, I am afraid of what’s coming for people I love. I am shocked that my country just gave 247 years of Democracy away over one night. We live in a different country now, than we did when we woke up, yesterday. Exactly how violent and cruel and hateful this new country is has yet to be revealed, but it’s going to be pretty terrible.
I fought hard to prevent this. We all did. But I guess there was a fundamental hurdle we just could not overcome, and we have to be real about that hurdle: this country is full of people who are just drowning in hate and fear who want nothing more than to hurt as many people as they can.
I knew they were always here, but I always believed that there were more good, kind, compassionate people who chose light over darkness. I always believed that we were the good guys, the place people come to when they are fleeing what we became this morning.
it’s just … it’s a lot.
It’s going to take me a long time to process this, and find a way to not feel despair every moment of every day until he is dead and (maybe) America comes back from this open embrace of Fascist authoritarianism.
I mentioned to some folks earlier that I believe it’s important that we allow ourselves to feel all the feelings, to honor them without judgement. For a lot of us — millions upon millions — this is the greatest betrayal by our fellow Americans we have ever experienced, and that’s going to be a LOT. At the same time, we can’t really _do_ anything about that, other than support and love and show up for the people we love.
To that end, I’m going to retreat from public life for a bit, and be with my family.
Stay safe, everyone.
Those who didn’t vote claim is because they couldn’t vote for either one. Those who voted for him often even agree he’s terrible but he’s “better than her” and that made all the difference. They were willing to sacrifice some of their values in order to prevent someone getting in, but the other side wasn’t. Let’s hope they stay accountable for the next four years and own what they voted for. And let’s continue to build safe places in those areas which will protect the minorities, gender diverse communities, women, and all other who feel at risk. It’s not the 1940s anymore, burning books doesn’t erase the history and knowledge, and we have places like this to know we’re not alone.
Stay strong that the demons you fear don’t appear. That even POTUS Trump will acknowledge being held accountable for what he does.Good will trump over evil. Offer him help to do good, why you ask…… because you are Star Fleet Wil Wilweaton!
Thank you Wil. I hope you and your family stay safe and well. Hope to see you back soon.
“It should come at no great surprise that the Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class left them” -Bernie Sanders
I hope you see the message above, Wil. Bernie nailed the underlying issues, but I feel that what was implied or otherwise left unstated should have been clarified…
TO RECAP TUESDAY: Trump won with five million fewer votes than he received In 2020, and Harris lost with FIFTEEN million fewer votes than Biden received in 2020. Other candidates received absolutely insignificant vote totals…
THEREFORE: Democrat voters did not dumb down and vote for Trump! Instead – and in nice round numbers – Democrat voters surrendered at least FIFTEEN MILLION VOTES in abject silence to absolute ineptitude, with the REAL total likely much closer to TWENTY MILLION LOST VOTES!
Democrat voters did this! Not Trump…
Eerrrgh! TWENTY MILLION “AMERICANS” just shat the bed and proved to the world that they’re each far less human than even the most deplorable Trump voter. You selfish jackasses owe it to the WORLD to grow the EFF up and make this right!!!
Wil, I wish you could understand most of your assumptions about the other side are false. You have been misled. We probably have more in common than you realize.
No. “We” do not.
You can’t claim to have things in common with people and then support a candidate who constantly attacks the existence of various classes of people he doesn’t like. Trump regularly attacks liberals, women, immigrants, and trans people. Black people. Puerto Ricans. Mexicans. The mentally disabled. His entire hateful campaign was built on a mass deportation plan that is impossible to implement without sweeping up legal immigrants and citizens (and unnecessarily demonizes people without documentation, who like all immigrants are usually a net positive to this country), and on convincing people that trans people are disgusting and should be shamed out of public existence and denied medical care.
If you voted for Trump, all of that is on you. And you are responsible for the emotional weight that is leading people like Wil Wheaton to reconsider a public life in a country that does not support the basic rights and safety of all of its people. Sit with that and then find a way to make amends, or stop trying to convince the rest of us that you have anything meaningful in common with us.
They’re not assumptions when you hear people say things outright.
I wish you could see you how we see you, for just a minute. You HORRIBLE creature.
Mr. Simones:
They aren’t “assumptions”. They are what we SEE and HEAR you and your compatriots DO and SAY.
Wil, ditto what you said. I prayed and prayed, for months I prayed. I believed from my childhood that good always wins over evil, always! I am 8 years older than you but I’m sure you remember too, the 80s and 90s. Trump was always a sleaze bag, always a male chauvinist ass, always in the news for some sort of crooked crap he did. I am a Republican and have been since my 20s. I think what happened with me is I did not believe Trump, in any way would make it to the White House. I was shocked when he became the candidate. My second mistake was voting independent simply because I did not want a Democrat in the White House, but that just weekend the race against him. I’m sure other Republicans did the same and that allowed Trump in the White House. I felt so stupid , now I feel so alone, like I am the only one shouting, who sees the truth that Trump is a severe narcissist, who only believe in himself. This did I voted Harris because I believe in her! I voted Democrat all access the ballot. I have so many dear friends and family who have fallen for Trumps crap. They keep saying he will fight for the little man and will make America great again. America was great before Trump showed up. I tried talking to them trying to point out simple things. I asked questions like: let’s do a pop quiz with Trump. Ask him: do you know how much gas is right now, in the north, in the west and the south? Do you know how, I mean HOW, physically how to put gas in your car? When was the last time you even DROVE a car ? I have only ever seen him have a chauffeur. Do you think Donald Trump has ever done something simple like mowing the grass in his yard ,taking his kids to school? Do you think he understands what it is like not knowing where he’s going to get the money for rent or a house payment? Has he ever had to come home and tell his wife that he was laid off from work?
I don’t understand why people think he’s sympathizes with them when he has had a silver spoon in his mouth his entire life.
But like you Wil, I am done. This is just making me sick all over again. Let’s agree to meet back up when the sun comes out again.
Love always, Kay
I feel exactly the same way. In fact, I didn’t watch the election returns at all and when I inadvertently got the news from Dan Rathers’ “Steady” column I just went to bed and stayed there. If more than half of the people voted for that bad man, I don’t want to be here anymore.
“People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people.
As soon as you saw people as things to be measured, they didn’t measure up. What would run through the streets soon enough wouldn’t be a revolution or a riot. It’d be people who were frightened and panicking. It was what happened when the machinery of city life faltered, the wheels stopped turning and all the little rules broke down. And when that happened, humans were worse than sheep. Sheep just ran; they didn’t try to bite the sheep next to them.”
Terry Pratchett, Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6)
This song from the Menzingers sums up some of my feelings
https://youtu.be/n5Y5wPiY0L4?si=t0ooLK0obi_ej32-
Will will will. Gutted for you guys across the pond. Gutted for all of us. Four years, I’m sorry.
Four if we’re lucky. He said he’d “fix it so you don’t have to vote anymore”.
My friends and I have had random bouts of appetite loss and complete shutdown (like, “can’t even play video games” level of shutdown) for the better part of a week now.
What you said is exactly how I’m feeling. I’m really sad that greed and money was more important than love and equal rights. I hope America can get through this, but I’m fearful.
Love your family and know that you fought a good fight.
Much love to you and yours
This whole post shows that you don’t understand. Instead of telling people what they are and what they believe, why not stop and listen to someone who is different than you. Reach out to me, I’d be glad to discuss with you. We aren’t hateful, we aren’t emotionally hurting, and we definitely don’t wish harm on anyone. We are drowning though, economically, and maybe for someone who has millions that’s hard to understand, I don’t know. But again, feel free to reach out and discuss. 74 million people voted for Trump, I don’t know how one can say they are all hateful and hurting, I’m sad that you took that road, that’s a bitter one to be on. All the best to you Wil.
I don’t have millions but you don’t understand economics. Biden didn’t cause inflation. It’s worldwide. But ours is much lower than others because of Biden’s policies. Trump is the bankruptcy king. He failed every business he ever touched. His tariffs are going to make you cry when the effects set in. Also, convicted felon, rapist, liar, racist, misogynist dictator wannabe. Really?
The economic problems you are worried about are not the issue here. Inflation was caused by COVID supply disruptions and was lower in the US than elsewhere in the world, and Biden got it under control. Incomes have kept pace with inflation so even with higher prices on groceries, people are still doing OK. Where they are hurting is in high housing costs and a lack of government support (like the Democratic Congress passed under Trump but the Republican Congress got rid of under Biden).
And Trump wants to enact tariffs on Chinese goods that will bring much higher inflation to households. He has zero plans to help with housing. He wants to end Social Security and he and the Republicans have no plans to restore pandemic-era financial support that the Republican Congress ended. So you will get only worse economic news from the upcoming Trump regime.
And in any event, the fact you can complain about the price of eggs or whatever while embracing a fascist who is planning on attacking millions of people and came back to power on a wave of hatred shows your priorities are wholly misplaced. We don’t need to listen to you–the entire news media regularly parrots your bullshit–we hear you and your ignorant ideas about the economy all the time. You need to listen to us. You need to open your eyes to the evil that you are enabling. And you need to change your ways.
“We don’t wish harm on anyone” is a puzzling statement when you took a decisive action that is going to cause immense harm to countless people.
What Wil and others write isn’t due to a misunderstanding, it’s a clearheaded analysis of what the choice you and others made will result in, for all the emotion it is presented with. That you don’t like what that choice says about you, or don’t agree with that it says anything, has no bearing on its consequences. Because that choice is a fact, not an opinion, and what your accompanying “wish” is does not change the harm your choice will cause, not even the slightest bit.
You are judged by your action, not by your self-image of being a decent person who “does not wish harm on anyone”. Those two things are incompatible with each other; by doing one, you cease to be the other.
Why someone who says he is drowning economically has voted for someone who had “the concept of a plan”, and whatever plan he does have was so bad that several hundred economists, including Nobel Price winners in economy, publicly said so and warned about it, is another matter. No less puzzling though.
Good luck with not economically drowning when the tariffs Trump openly stated he will impose as soon as he takes office make everything much, much, more expensive – I guess the steel tariffs he imposed during his last turn and the devastating effect on the US economy and people’s ability to afford things back then weren’t bad enough to leave a mark in your memory. Maybe they will this time around. Or maybe it will take the additional financial hit from Trump throwing out the immigrant workers that currently so cheaply do the farm work for the vegetables you are putting on the table. We’ll see how well it works to say you “don’t wish” to make food more expensive.
Nobody here doesnt understand your filthy hate. We REJECT IT.
I have deleted all social media and was glad to see your blog still here… I will wait til your ready to return . I admire your strength and value your input on the world. Stay safe an best to Anne and the boys.
Love you, man! Stay safe!
Your side is the side that wants to take away Constitutional rights (2nd Amendment), censor people’s free speech online, force them to take vaccines they don’t want, allow foreigners to flood across the border–harming the lives, welfare and futures of actual US citizens, use lawfare to put people you don’t like in jail, permanently damage children with surgeries and drugs, let crime flourish by reducing law enforcement and penalties for breaking laws, send untold billions of dollars to other countries to support continuing foreign wars, allow men to play in women’s sports and occupy their dressing rooms, stack the Supreme Court, and abolish the the Constitutionally established Electoral College. None of these things hurt your friends, the elites, they only hurt the common man. You tirelessly demonize straight, white men, all while claiming our side are all racists. You call us fascists and Nazis and a “threat to democracy” while at the same time saying WE’RE the ones spewing violent rhetoric. Now you melodramatically think you’re all in danger because the MAJORITY of normal people have finally had enough, and DEMOCRATICALLY chose a different path. A path of law and order, fiscal sanity and normalcy. I’m sure your first reaction when you read this is to delete it. Maybe before you do it, you should ask yourself why that’s your first instinct? Why do you plug your ears when you hear an opinion you don’t like? Maybe try listening, and realize that those on our side don’t want to hurt you, your kids, or take away your rights. Half the country isn’t your enemy. We just want a life that works fairly for everyone, and a better future for our families.
A man who cozies up to dictators and abandons democracies invaded by said dictators. A man who has multiple criminal charges and is a felon. A man who lies about election results…this is the man who will bring this positive change you speak of?
You’re seriously going to say “half the country isn’t your enemy” when Trump was the one who called half the country “the enemy within”? You don’t want to hurt us, our kids, or take away our rights you say? Then why are you supporting the candidate who brags about overturning Roe V Wade? Why are you supporting the candidate who said there were “very fine people on both sides” at Charlottesville? Why are you supporting the candidate whose name appears 312 times in project 2025?
You probably won’t read this but I had to say something. I’m not an American and thus access all types of media have no personal stake so here’s a few facts for you:
1. I have seen nothing about anyone wanting to take away the 2nd Amendment, which would be incredibly hard anyway as far as I can from various sources talking about Constitutional change. Except for people such as yourself who seem to think it’s a thing anyone wants to do. Clarification of the meaning of the Amendment would be good though.
2. “Allowing” anyone to cross the border. From what I’ve read Biden actually did not only not remove the barriers to Immigration put in place by the previous government he reduced immigration numbers ever further. I can’t personally see how allowing people fleeing from war and poverty into the US is harming any US citizen — plus whatever happened to “Bring me your huddled masses”? Not to mention that much of the US economy rests on the back of “undocumented” workers who work for little money but do the work many citizens won’t do at wages citizens would not accept.
3. “Lawfare” — I have only seen one side chanting “Lock her/them up” in regard to people on the “other” side. Biden’s administration in fact followed the letter of the law so carefully that a convicted rapist and fraudster has remained free for the last four years because doing it properly takes time.
3. Damaging children with surgery and drugs. Say what now? The 2016-2020 administration separated families and have left thousands of children without their families because they didn’t accurately record who those families were and so can’t reunite them. They also performed surgery on people in detention camps without consent or reason, and the Biden administration had no policy or practice in regard to forcing children to have any medical treatment.
4. Letting crime flourish. By every metric published crime is lower than it has been.
5. Sending billions of dollars to support wars. As far as I can see the only billions of dollars being sent to support wars are the ones that have been sent to assist a sovereign country that was invaded without reason or warning, and the ones that have been sent to assist a country committing genocide. Speaking as a non-citizen I’d be really happy if you guys would stop doing the second one.
6. Allowing men in women’s sports and dressing rooms. Again say what. Speaking as a woman we are much more at risk from heterosexual cis men than any transgender person — look at the figures for rape and murder of women and see who does that. No one is “allowing men” into anything; the Biden administration however does recognise that gender is not and never has been a static binary thing and support the right of people to be the person they feel they are. This harms no one else.
7. Stack the Supreme court. This one is actually amusing: the Democrats could not stack SCOTUS because the the GOP did that already. Check it out, please: the GOP held out so long against confirming ONE Supreme Court judge that it was almost the end of the Presidential term and then they said they couldn’t do it because it was too close to the election. Then Justice Bader-Ginsberg died just before an election and not only did they dishonour her memory and years of service by not following her literal dying request that her spot not be filled until after the election, a thing they had already argued was a thing they couldn’t do anyway, that they IMMEDIATELY replaced her with someone who the Bar Association said was not even qualified for the position. As for the rapist they filled the other vacancy the least said the better.
8. As for “majority” of people “Democratically” choosing a path… The University of Florida Election Lab shows the numbers: Voting eligible population = 244,666,890, but Ballots Counted is only 155,391,700, so only 63.51 % of the eligible population voted. Popular vote count for the winner was 74,884,923, which means that the percentage of eligible Americans who voted for him is 30.6%. That is not a majority.
One last note: again I don’t expect any of this to make a difference to you but if you do any research at all to challenge these points I will be slightly more optimistic than I am right now.
Actually, my first instinct was to feel sorry for you because you can’t see that you’re living in a nightmare fantasy world, created by a racist, fascist, misogynistic con-man and his sycophants. They get you to believe and fear their made-up crap to get you to vote the way they want, full stop.
The lies they spew about vaccines, the 2nd Amendment, migrants, etc. have exactly one purpose; to keep you feeling scared and isolated, because scared, isolated people are easier to control than people who stand together.
Please, turn off Fox News, go outside, maybe talk to your neighbors, and possibly get some therapy.
yawn
Oh, we do understand that you want a better life. What we don’t understand is why YOU can’t understand that this isn’t the way to get it.
We can’t lose hope. We fought this long and hard and our rightfully appalled. But I’m sorry in the words of Gandolf. We still have the fight of love to carry out. It is in the small every day things that evil is kept at bay. Small acts of kindness, love and mercy. While this diabolical situation is something that we can’t do away with right now, we can fight and hold the line between what is good and what is evil in our daily lives. We need to stand together and continue the fight. All is not lost.
Hope you and your family stay safe Wil. From an outsider looking in I hoped America would not vote Trump back in. I believe he’s a dangerous man and only time will prove how much so. I can’t believe people would favor him over Kamala . Most of all I wanted someone to win who would let Women chose the right to abortion and not forced to have the child born from rape or incest or suffering from severe medical conditions. Choose love not hate choose life!. My thoughts are with every American feeling uneasy and uncertain of the future. ❤️
Wil,
I think this was all about the economy and the migrant crisis. (which are both outcomes of the climate crisis, which this president and most of the elected will not address). Everything else took a back seat. I don’t think everyone who voted for Trump is hateful, but it does concern me that his behavior is ignored or celebrated. However I knew this when they chose him even when they had a more reasonable choice (Haley)
I was also very concerned today when I heard that the cases against him were being dropped. It says to me that maybe the charges were politically motivated, which I would have sworn up and down that they weren’t. Regardless, this is the country we live in and like it or not he will now be the president and we have to find a way to get through the next 4 years and hope we can prevent him from doing the worst of what he promised.
The fact that the charges are being dropped has nothing to do with them being politically motivated, it’s just that they unfortunately have no path forward now. They waited too long and the process took too much time. The OLC opinion states you can’t indict a sitting President, so they wouldn’t be able to do anything once he is sworn in. If they waited 4 years until 2028 to resume the cases, the statute of limitations would be up. Plus Trump and whoever he appoints as Attorney General would fire Jack Smith anyway.
I am as anti-Trump as anyone, but this post just encapsulates the sentiment that helps propels Trump to victory. Largely people who vote for Trump are not full of hate or bigots. They are highly misinformed and live in a media bubble (as do some on the Left) and in that bubble they are forced a steady diet of what appears (to them) to be rational arguments for voting for Trump – the economy, law and order, foreign policy, preventing intersectional/identity polices from eroding meritocracy, etc. For the religious ones, they view Trump as a very flawed person, but one who will champion their causes which they see as Biblically ordained. They genuinely believe that voting for Trump is preserving America. No, I don’t agree with them. For me, there was not a single policy issue more important than preventing someone who might subvert democracy from taking power, but for them they don’t see it that way. What doesn’t help is to call them all racists, misogynists, dimwits, toxic, etc. (Sure some of them are, but not all 72 million). They get told by their media that all leftists can do is hysterical name calling and so when you validate those views, you strengthen their conviction in their “us vs. them” world view. It may be more useful to understand how and why 51% of the people have become so partisan that they are unwilling or unable to overlook Trump’s obvious flaws. Every complex issue has truths on both sides. Issues need to be debated all the while acknowledging the grains of truth on both sides and crafting a compromise. Currently each side demonizes the other and this results in deep partisan trenches. I am not saying this happens equivalently. Fox News and the Right Wing media juggernaut has perfected it and in the Trump era is far more egregious with lies and exaggerations. But the people living in that bubble don’t see that. (Just as the Left often doesn’t see the full picture either on some issues) The people are not evil, just misinformed. Trump however is a morally defective human being with almost zero EQ and I hope our institutions are prepared to defend themselves from Executive branch take over.
I think we’re all just stunned by their inability to see the blindingly obvious, namely that their actual problems (low wages, high prices, lack of job benefits, lack of opportunities, etc.) are caused by the soulless, rapacious billionaires they keep voting for, not brown people or 12 year-olds using the “wrong” bathroom.
I feel so betrayed and such a mix of other emotions I can’t put them all into words.
I’m planning on mostly staying in bed this weekend to try to process the grief.
This is not the country I thought it was in 2008, and that sucks more than I can put into words.
It’s been a long time since I wrote something on a personal homepage. Like back in the days when life felt easier. In the last hours, I thought that everything had broken apart. Then I saw my kids who reminded me that life is still great like yesterday. They carry the hope of us all in them. The hope that the world wil(l) heal. Keep your chin up and be a light.
A friend sent this, and I feel it needs to be shared far, wide, and often among those of us hurting, reeling, and disillusioned. To all of you: I see you. I love you. Stay strong. Rise. Glow.
It’s when the earth shakes
And foundations crumble
That our light is called
To rise up.
It’s when everything falls away
And shakes us to the core
And awakens all
Of our hidden ghosts
That we dig deeper to find
Once inaccessible strength.
It’s in times when division is fierce
That we must reach for each other
And hold each other much
Much tighter.
Do not fall away now.
This is the time to rise.
Your light is being summoned.
Your integrity is being tested
That it may stand more tall.
When everything collapses
We must find within us
That which is indomitable.
Rise, and find the strength in your heart.
Rise, and find the strength in each other
Burn through your devastation,
Make it your fuel.
Bring forth your light.
Now is not the time
To be afraid of the dark.
🌓
Poem by Chelan Harkin
A very large majority of voters are not evil or even wishing evil on anyone. They are trying to look out for what they perceive are their best interests. How those perceptions are formed is cause for real discussion. I think that you would best serve that debate by continuing to participate, by listening to others opinions – especially the ones you don’t agree with, by giving real thought to what is happening all around (sooo many influences on our perceptions), and offering clear, well thought out messages as you have done for so long. Please don’t disappear.
I don’t know what to do. We have people in my household that are in danger. Real danger, I would do anything I need to for them. Every fiber of my being is screaming but I’m trying remain calm. I’m being looked to for answers, I haven’t felt this helpless since COVID hit hard and so much was unknown. But that was manageable. This is, this feels like the beginning of the end. We are terrified and I’m away traveling for work to save money to leave the country if we need to. I always have a plan. This one is being played by ear and I can’t stand it. Citizens shouldn’t fear their government. I’m just at such a loss I feel so alone.
Wil,
I am so heartbroken, it’s as if my country has left me, alone with a very bad man. I am 65 years old and so afraid he’ll do what he said and take away my Social Security it’s all I have to retire on, without it I’ll be homeless and destitute.
Thank you for putting into words exactly how I also feel. Unfortunately I would not be able to explain this sense of fear and sadness by what this decision my friends, family, and neighbors have made. Time to just do our best to support, fight, love and show compassion and maybe one by one we can get through this and come out the other side. Time to be strong.
Great words for me to he
ar from someone who feels the same. I live in Camarillo and lucky for me my mind was not on him but on helping my community. I did not watch TV stayed away from social media just so I could not feel the sorrow of the election. Stay strong…
Wil, your words hit me hard, because I feel this same deep ache and fear for what’s unfolding in our country. Like you, I believed in the strength of compassion and kindness here, but it’s hard not to feel crushed by the reality we’ve woken up to. I’m struggling to balance the heartbreak with the need to keep going, to stand up for those I care about. Thank you for sharing this, for helping to put words to what so many of us feel but can’t quite express. Take all the time you need with your family, but know that your voice means a lot to us out here in this fight too. And when you’re ready to re-engage, we’ll be here.
It’s important – and hopeful? – that he got fewer votes this time than he did in ’20. But how in hell did Harris get 14,000,000 fewer votes than Biden got back then? Did those voters all of a sudden decide trump wasn’t the existential threat they thought he was four years ago? I truly don’t get it.
My heart is also broken. I truly believed Harris would win. I prayed, used positive affirmations, donated. 😢. I believe the propaganda machines (aka Newsmax and Fox) had done their jobs exceptionally well. We lost based on lies.
I was supposed to have a colonoscopy on Friday (after I failed the Cologuard) but I canceled the colonoscopy. What’s the point? The world is on fire. Why stick around longer than absolutely necessary?
Dude, get the colonoscopy!
I am sad this happened and confused. Why did this happen? I have no answers.
The thing that makes my heart ache, the real root of my sadness, was the low voter turnout. Especially in marginalized communities. Even with Donny in the White House again, I should be okay. But I voted for those I knew would not. But I can’t want a better life for others if they don’t want it for themselves.
Thank you for being you, Wil Wheaton… for bringing your energy, kindness and love into the world… and making space for all to express our sadness over this awfulness. Peace for you and your family… 🙏🏻
Lots of despair here. I get it. I wrote this article for my blog. It may help.
After the very disappointing (for me) election loss of Kamala Harris and the win of Donald Trump last night, I was feeling some despair. But not being the despairing type, I called on my league of wise counselors, and an ageless stoic, Marcus, appeared to talk me through my disappointment.
You’re welcome to listen in…
Robert: (sighs) I can’t believe it. All that work, all that hope… and we lost. I thought we were fighting for something that mattered, something that could change things. I feel like someone just put a big rock on my chest.
Marcus: Ah, the weight of disappointment—familiar territory, my friend. But consider: is this loss truly an unbearable weight, or have you simply convinced yourself that it’s so?
Robert: Are you kidding? Of course, it’s unbearable! I poured my heart into this. We all did! It’s like someone yanked the rug out from under us. You’d feel the same if it mattered to you.
Marcus: (chuckles) You’d be surprised, Robert. I’ve seen empires rise and fall, and watched fools and tyrants claim victory over reason and justice. The sting you feel—it’s proof that you care deeply. But the pain of a broken heart can be more instructive than the pleasure of a triumphant one.
Robert: (grumbling) Well, that’s easy to say. You stoics make everything sound like a “learning experience.” What am I supposed to learn here? How to lose gracefully?
Marcus: (grins) Maybe! But let’s go deeper. What if I told you this pain is an invitation—a call to strengthen the virtues you already admire in Kamala? Courage, perseverance, the dedication to build up and cooperate. Now, the choice is yours: to let disappointment lead you to despair, or to let it kindle a sharper resolve.
Robert: So I’m just supposed to “sharpen my resolve” and go on, like nothing happened?
Marcus: (smiling) Oh, no, Robert. You can mourn. Mourn! This sadness is yours, after all. Feel it deeply, but don’t let it own you. It’s a visitor, not a squatter. Remember, the depth of your sadness is a measure of your love and hope. Honor that, but also know that sorrow’s work is to remind you what you truly value.
Robert: (pauses, thinking) Okay… I get that. I do value these things. But it’s hard not to feel like the universe just slapped me in the face. I mean, look around! So much negativity, so much division. And we’re supposed to just… endure it?
Marcus: Ah, but Robert, you say the word “endure” as if it were a dirty word! Endurance is our armor. True endurance isn’t passive; it’s a fierce act of defiance. Each time you choose to keep building, to keep loving, to keep cooperating, you’re shouting back at the darkness, saying, “I will not be diminished.” And here’s the kicker—losses sharpen us for the next fight, if we let them.
Robert: (sighs) But it still feels unfair, you know? Like, why do the people who stand for good always seem to have the hardest battles?
Marcus: Unfair? Maybe. But have you considered that adversity is the finest test of integrity? No one admires a fair-weather soldier. You, Kamala, everyone who stood by her—you are warriors for the good, not because it’s easy, but because it’s right. Tell me, if justice were simple, if kindness always won instantly, would you even need courage?
Robert: (smiling reluctantly) No, I guess not. But, Marcus… can’t I still just be mad about it for a little while?
Marcus: (laughing) Please, be as mad as you like! I’ll wait right here until you’re ready to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Just remember, disappointment and anger—they’re like visitors who pop in unannounced. You don’t have to kick them out right away, but also don’t let them redecorate the place.
Robert: (laughs) I see. So I’m allowed to stew a little, then pick myself up?
Marcus: Absolutely. And when you do pick yourself up, remember this: the pain of loss only feels personal, but in truth, it’s a shared fire. Every defeat reminds us that we’re still in the game—that we’re still fighting for something worth losing sleep over. Isn’t that a gift in itself?
Robert: (smiling with a hint of admiration) I never thought I’d call losing a gift, but… maybe there’s something there.
Marcus: Precisely, Robert! Let the fire of disappointment turn you into a brighter torch for others. You don’t lose when the results go against you. You lose when you let the results dictate who you’ll be. And from what I see, there’s a lot more for you to be yet.
Robert: (grins) Alright, Marcus, you’ve made your point. I’ll feel this, but I won’t wallow. Maybe I’ll even… endure it with a touch of grace. You reminded me of a quote by Robert Carlyle: “Endurance is patience concentrated.”
Marcus: (smiling warmly) That’s the spirit.
So many wonderful reminders, and so much grace. Thank you for this, Robert.
Hi man – I totally love your work – you’re so so epic. I don’t usually engage in the public sphere – but I just happened to see your post on Instagram and thought I might share this Byron Katie video that has been helping some folks around me lately.
https://youtu.be/ulOFJB0AfLo?si=UUcxtaL_Ryc0Iu4L
It’s of someone working through their feelings around Trump from LAST election cycle. Hope you get a chance to check it out and hope it helps.
My solution to this ongoing nightmare is a basic head-in-the-sand approach. Last Wednesday morning I removed all the news site icons from the command bar of my browser and have not read, watched or listened to any news since. It is wonderfully liberating and I highly recommend it.
I’ll still participate, of course. Every two years I’ll get a ballot, and I’ll read and vote on local measures and check off all the Democratic candidates listed and send it back.
That’s it. I’m 73 years old and I’m done with this shit.
The scary thing is that the far right crazies with the swastikas couldn’t have elected him alone. There’s a segment of voters who believe they’re middle grounders who helped elect him, some of whom voted for Obama awhile back. Not sure how to wrap my head around that one.
Wil — stay safe, be well, and go carefully. We’ll see you on the other side. In the meantime, I’ll continue to search for audiobooks you have narrated, like John Scalzi’s Starter Villain (which you obviously had waaaaaayy too much fun reading!), so I can continue to enjoy your persona.
Wil, when you have taken several – 1,000,000 deep breaths, I know you will start fighting like Hell in the ways you can; writing, organizing and keeping abreast of all the ways we can mitigate the next 4 years. Much love to you and yours. Tonya
I speak as a Harris supporter. Bear in mind that to Trump supporters, he won the 2020 election and they think that voting for him is restoring democracy. Until now they were the ones that were feeling loss and despair. They have been living in a country that they can’t recognize anymore, strangers in their own land.
But you know what? We’re both wrong. Just as we all knew that MAGA wasn’t going anywhere, regardless of who won, we also know that progress isn’t going away either. Too many people are invested in the gains we have made to give them up now. The fight goes on, just in another form.
Crimes. Occupation. Killing. Stealing other nations wealth.