Wow, has it been four years already? Just kidding -- it seems more like 40 years since Trump was elected. When I first started down the long road of Trump resistance weeks after the election, it was via a Facebook group called 1456, the name signifying the number of days between Election Day 2016 and 2020. Clearly, I didn’t take into account an off-the-rails lame duck interregnum so it’s been actually 1,534 days of enduring a wannabe autocrat and his lackeys terrorize the nation, undermine the rule of law and put our democracy on life support. But it’s also been 1,534 days of hope and inspiration as ordinary citizens have recognized that their voices and their votes matter and that if we work hard enough, we can make anything happen, even against the odds, even the GA senate races.
As we move forward as a nation, so will the New Faces of Democracy podcast in Season Two. There is a lot to celebrate and a lot to digest. We no longer have to witness the desecration of the Oval Office for personal enrichment or partisan political gain. We have a new leader who will actually lead us rather than divide us. A return to decency, responsible governing, and presidential norms made Biden’s win the sweetest of victories. And yet, four years of having Trump at the helm showed us our democracy’s vulnerability. And yet, the entrenched interests in today’s Republican party are not going anywhere, and so the work continues. We have learned to flex our civic engagement muscles and we know now that we need to keep up the habit.
Season Two will give us a chance to look back at the gains we have made in protecting our democracy, the healing and rebuilding that needs to take place, and an optimistic look ahead at the opportunities for real progress under the Biden administration. I hope you will join me for inspiring conversations with people at the grassroots and the grasstops who are making this all happen, political newcomers and policy leaders alike, all of whom share a common goal of bringing us closer to a more perfect union and the America that we believe we can be.
You can catch Season Two at newfacesofdemocracy.org where you can also subscribe to the podcast and follow me on social media. See you soon at New Faces of Democracy!
