I FaceTimed my brother who lives in Cambridge, England. This smiling face appeared. He was so happy.
“Wow, you did it!”
He was talking about the Blue Wave.
“Did you see Abdul El-Sayed?”
Then he quoted him. “Donald, look, I know you’ve struggled with my name. … After JD swears me in in January, you can just go on and call me ‘Senator.’”
My brother was so happy, it was as if he were an American.
Later, I talked to a couple of friends who live in London. Same thing. Smiling faces.
“America has really shown the world what democracy looks like!”
And I felt so happy and proud of the country that we brought our family to in 1983. Because for a while there. … I was thinking, ‘What have we done? Why did we choose to become citizens of a country that voted for a government that is causing such damage across the world?’
But now the people have voted. Trump’s reign of terror is over!
My heart is light. My soul is bright and my hope is high.
I know we still have a couple of rough years ahead. In the deep, dark waters, the sharks are still circling. But I keep thinking about the Norwegian soccer team and their fans doing the Viking Row. The players sat on the pitch like they were in a longship. Ødegaard beat the drum. And the players and the fans all reached forward and pulled back together. “Ro!” they called. “Row!”
One call. One team.
And I remember why we came here.
Home of the brave.
Land of the free.
All for one and one for all.
Together, you and me.
Val Gee
Oak Park