Lots of people are saying that 2017—and the first year of the Trump presidency & GOP control—was far worse than they'd imagined. For me, it was the opposite. 1/
After Trump won, a bunch of friends and I spent a Saturday afternoon brainstorming ways that things could go wrong in 2017. It was deeply sobering. Throughout this year, I’ve tried to keep my expectations tied to the list we made.
Many of the worst things might easily still happen. You're wearing rose-colored glasses if you don't expect a disastrous war and a self-inflicted economic meltdown before Trump leaves office.
I'm relieved that we haven't teetered into a full-scale Constitutional crisis. That we haven't seen over the top government force used in a major city in a way that sparked riots. That the ACA is merely battered, & Medicaid's intact. So far.
These things, and many more, all became likely the moment Trump won the White House. It's likely that we're nowhere close to rock bottom. But the fact that things are unraveling at a far slower rate than seemed likely—that's a source of solace.
And more than that: the explosion of civic energy from a vast swathe of Americans is simply breathtaking. It's suggests that not only some of Trump's excesses may yet be curbed—but that a profound renewal may be possible.
There have been far worse times than this year in American history, and throughout human history throughout the world. It's helpful to keep perspective. And then to draw hope from the wellspring of democracy: the demos. The people. You. All of us.
I'm ending this year still with the sense of dread about what's possible—but also with a great sense of gratitude for the efforts of all of the people working to not only avert disaster, but to build something better. Here's to 2018.
