...now what? Time to roll up our sleeves.

"May you live in interesting times" has never been used as a blessing. And it's true, for quite some time now, we have been living in a series of paradigm shifts. Some have been cataclysmic: the Covid pandemic, global war zones, climate stressors, etc. Others have been nationally impactful, such things as the horrible reality of mass shootings and the riot at the Capitol. 

Then, there are other things for which we have no real roadmap or prior experience to build schema on, such things as a felonious presidential candidate lying and manipulating large crowds of willingly duped individuals. There is also the counterpart: President Biden choosing not to continue his candidacy, in order to focus on the very complicated job he has before him with a contentious Congress and global autocracies and wars, and to make way for a younger generation of leaders. Truly, this can be seen as an honorable, patriotic act.

But what now? The pundits have been hounding Biden for weeks, actually months, about his age, about his attempts to effect a resolution in Gaza, about his continued support for Ukraine, about his repeated efforts to make the lives of average working folks a little easier (which efforts have been blocked, over and over again, by those who suck profits out of our pockets every single day)-- the list is endless, and I'm sure that attending to the "to-do list" on his desk every day is exhausting. How unfair that, given this unending list of crises, added to campaigning, he should be criticized for appearing tired. It's no secret that the presidency ages the holder of the office; photos don't lie. Four years (or eight) wear a person down immeasurably. The media's constant need to be fed just adds to the pressure. 

I'm tired just thinking about the job. I'm glad it's not mine. 

That said, Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris, and it appears she has a lot of support from others who might have challenged her for the nomination at the DNC next month. While some may criticize the job she's done, that, too, is a little unfair. No VP has a really visible job. It's not in the job description. She has been championing women's issues, health care, etc. around the country. She has traveled internationally to represent us and she's done well; no international discord has resulted. She's a smart woman, a proven professional and legislator long before she was called to serve as VP. 

Nothing about this whole situation has a proven playbook, and we certainly have much to think about. For the security and safety of the nation and all who live here, and for the continued preservation and future development of our international alliances, we have to be as certain as possible that the way forward is a positive, life-sustaining one. 

Buckle up. Roll up your sleeves. We have work to do, and just over 100 days to do it.

C