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Which to choose? Listen to a radio program focused on what land mines trump might put in place to create difficulties for the incoming administration? Or continue reading an article in today’s NYT about the signs that precede civilizational collapse and which of them are present in our current situation?

Stark choices, to be sure, and also indicative of why, after the joyful elation of yesterday’s presidential victory celebration, I still experienced anxiety dreams last night, dreams of fighting gravity, of being pulled back downhill despite repeatedly trying to claw my way upward.

Between the irony of Giuliani’s reality-defying speech yesterday fresh in my mind as he denounced the vote count in the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping, while a crematorium and an adult entertainment shop called “Fantasy Island” loomed in the background, and Ruth Marcus’s Washington Post column quoting two former attorney’s general, from opposing parties, writing of the “insidious danger” inherent in the rhetoric of trumpist attempts to discredit the results of the election as invitations to “hallucinate evil,” is it any wonder my dreams might be awash in alarm?

And besides, weren’t they already hallucinating evil? But then, Giuliani isn’t known for the accurate reportage of facts.

Without attempting to diminish yesterday’s victory, it is glaringly obvious, regardless of which side of the political divide you’re on, that difficult days lie ahead. The number of people who voted for trump despite his numerous deficits speaks volumes about the nature of the electorate and the character of the nation. Bridging the chasm of understanding that divides us will require the mustering of resources and the employment of skills tailored to penetrate and dispel the clouds of doubt and fear that make otherwise normal-seeming people impervious to reason, resistant to facts and unwilling to consider opposing views.

So, while we are justified to breathe a deep sigh of relief over yesterday’s news, much work remains if we wish to cement that gain in any durable fashion. The success of President Biden’s efforts to govern for all the people, instead of just those who elected him, will depend on his ability to speak to the concerns and fears of his opponents in a way no other Democrats have been successful in doing thus far.

In the midst of the uncertainty and the transitory nature of the present moment, I’ve learned there’s one thing I can count on to apprise me of our progress along this path. My dreams, for better or worse, will keep me in the know.

Tim Konrad

November 8, 2020