Bill Simons
The day finally came – deep breath, great joy.
An earthquake, a grand reckoning.
Our cruel, relentless fever finally breaks.
America, reborn.
The goodness of this land is not lost.
The fragile, battered ship of freedom returns to port.
No, it’s not yet time to hum, “Happy days are here again.”
No, this certainly is not another Gettysburg or a landing on a French beach.
It just feels that way.
Bound for office are a pastor from Kansas, a seminarian from Texas, the first Black woman governor ever, a gritty Muslim, an Iowan in a wheelchair, a baby doctor, an outraged Latina mother, a gay governor, a roughhewn Maine logger and an inspirational Georgian out of the John Lewis tradition who just might become our next president.
Goodness, even South Carolina bathes in blue. As McEnroe would say, “You cannot be serious!”
Fresh faces, hope over hatred – a generational change, a bully retreats. Haley Stevens’ ploy didn’t work. Neither did Musk’s money, tired trans attacks, the usual racism and wretched ads in Ohio, Michigan and everywhere else.
I remember noble martyrs – Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the indignant, brave people of Minneapolis.
Many bristle at Mamdani. But, with courage, bold ideas and a smile, he inspired. The No Kings message mattered.
Millions marched. Many leapt into the arena. So many worked so hard.
For too long, I wasn’t sure if Martin Luther King was right. Now I know his compass was true: “The arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Talarico’s Love Thy Neighbor victory speech, with its generous spirituality and radical inclusiveness, recalled David and Goliath, a story my mother so loved.
The work is not done. But on this mighty day, the better angels of our nature prevailed.
