I, like many people, was disappointed with the results of the Presidential election
A weekly Column by Kathryn Ross,
“Let It Be”
“When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken-hearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted
There is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Yeah, there will be an answer, let it be”
According to GENIUS, “Written by Paul McCartney and becoming one of The Beatles’ most iconic and remembered ballads, “Let It Be” presents an uplifting and comforting message that reflects a desire for peace and acceptance in the face of life’s challenges. The track was released alongside The Beatles’ studio album of the same name in 1970.
I, like many people, was disappointed with the results of the Presidential election. As I drove home following the closing of the polls, I was an Election Official, I heard the early voting results on the radio, and I felt the same dread that overtook me on election night 2016 come over me again. First, another woman running for President had gone down in flames. The glass ceiling was still intact and secondly Donald Trump would once again be our President.
But for all my idealism I can be pragmatic. Granted, I’ve sworn off a lot of the news shows, and I can’t recite chapter and verse what has been happening with Trump’s cabinet selections, or really even what is happening on the wider political stage. I’ve taken my own hiatus.
I did the same thing in 1968. That morning while I was rolling my hair into curlers and getting ready to sit under the bouffant cap of my hair dryer while I read my English assignment, I heard the news on my transistor radio that Bobby Kennedy had been shot. I’d campaigned for him, in the way a high school kid who didn’t have the right to vote could campaign back then. When he died, I shut down. I didn’t want anything to do with the government, the conspiracy was too widespread, and big business was in charge. That hiatus lasted a decade.
Now, I don’t want to hear what is happening until Inauguration Day. I figure the remaining weeks of 2024 can be free of discord and pessimism and stress free, or as stress free as the Christmas season can be.
But for that I would have to stop reading Facebook. I get a lot of good information from Facebook. I also get a lot of doom and gloom and rhetoric about how bad everything is going to be from Facebook. Between the lines I feel the angst and recognize the blame game and how those who voted for Trump are out of their minds, going to regret it and betrayed the rest of us. The country is still divided.
I never expected that Trump would bring us together like some peacemaker, but I thought the mean speech and hatred would dissipate in recognition of the democratic process.
It is what it is. Donald J. Trump is the President for the next four years and we have to trust in our laws and the Constitution, the separation of powers and our representatives and the wisdom of our forefathers. We need to accept that democracy has worked and that over half of the country got what it wanted.
Trump is our President. Rather than continuing the fighting, scheming, blaming and finger pointing, we need to find a way to come together, work together and in the words of a great song, “Let It Be”.
Kathryn Ross is a longtime writer and reporter based in Wellsville NY. She can be reached anytime at, kathr_2002@yahoo.com
