Surviving that awful storm

What a week! There was a massive storm, so I hid away in the bushveld and watched from afar, going wow and ooh, because while the action was distant, it felt close.

The rain drummed its furious fingers on the roof, lightning split the sky, the wind blew wild, and there was nothing I could do but gape into the darkness.

It kept me awake all night. So that was the US election.

There was also an impressive thunderstorm in the Magaliesberg, where I was unsuccessfully escaping from the news. That storm though … that election.

It was far away, and yes, there’s nothing I – we – could do and yet it affects us all, because when Donald Trump farts we all get to smell it. And it stinks. His whole damned tenure stinks.

But still 70-odd million American citizens went yes, more of that please. More lazy soundbites over hard decisions.

More conspiracy theories over fact checks. More incitement to violence over appeals for peace.

More putting up walls over building bridges. More doubt, more mistrust, more scapegoating.

More “divide and conquer”, because that’s what Trump does best. And that’s what he’s still doing.

That wretched man made the unsayable sayable, he poisoned minds by tapping into people’s primal fears, by demonising those who weren’t for him.

That is why we – the world – need Joe Biden more than ever now: not because he’s some modern saviour, but because he’s a
“liberal”.

Yes, liberal, that dreaded word that Trumpism and its ilk have rebranded as an insult.

Here’s the truth about being “liberal” though: it literally means being open-minded, being willing to accept that not everyone thinks the same way, and that while there might be a difference of opinion, that doesn’t mean common ground cannot be found.

Unlike Trump and his obsessive cult-building, Biden grasps that he will be the president for an entire nation, including those who didn’t vote for him.

Unlike Trump, Biden wants to unite and lead. Please, America, let him.

Jennie Ridyard

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