My greatest hope? Quiet, finally quiet. For nearly a decade, a torrent of lies has emitted from Donald Trump and his ilk. Abuse, ignorance, misogyny, racism—the list goes on. Please shut up, can’t think with all this noise.
I agree. Make Politics Boring Again. But we also need to learn from this harrowing episode that civic engagement is crucial. We all need to participate. Part of what got us to this place is widespread apathy.
People need to be educated in civics. Far too many are clueless. Cluelessness breeds apathy, and apathy breeds hate and feelings of being left behind. That is what we've been seeing unfolding in real time. Trump taps into this even though financially he's doing just fine, nevertheless, his followers relate to his grievance.
I think you put your finger on the reason for the noise. It’s hard to think when you’re bombarded with noise. Noise can be used as a weapon or a tool. These days we are flooded with noise.
...especially scoring these 15 science words in as little as 20 seconds?:Frustrated? Annoyed? Resentful? Angry? Irritated? Anxious? Frightened? Worrying? Tense? Nervous? Sad? Discouraged? Esteem? Worthless ? Anhedonia?
"A web search on mediation statistics indicates success rates that seem to hover around 85 percent, and reveals that mandatory mediation is only 10 percent less effective than that. It is astounding that even where parties do not want to mediate, the process brings them to their own voluntary resolution 75 percent of the time.
Simply put, mediation is “negotiation on steroids.” ..."
****Trump:"I'm gonna protect women whether they want it or not"
Me:"I 'Do Unto Others' my favorite Potluck dish: Peanut Casserole... Jesus never told me to ask if anyone had allergies..."
"I did a study at a community mental health clinic in New York to evaluate the accuracy of therapists’ and caregivers’ evaluations who brought children in for treatment. I asked the children, their therapists, and their mothers to rate how they thought the children were feeling.
When I analyzed the data, I was amazed to discover that the therapists’ accuracy was about zero. And the mothers didn’t do any much better! There was pretty much no correlation between how the children felt and how their therapists (or mothers) thought they felt.
The errors were not trivial. For example, the mother of one little boy rated his depression and suicidal urges at zero. She was convinced that her son did not feel depressed, and the therapist agreed with this assessment.
How did the boy actually feel?
His depression and suicidal scores were at the top of the scale! In the margin of the assessment test, he wrote that he had borrowed a gun from a friend and had plans to kill himself on Friday. In this case, mind reading* almost resulted in the death of a little boy, but the assessment test alerted the mother and therapist to what was really going on and likely saved his life."
Up to 60% of anxious people(e.g. ALL OF US) are cured by placebo... placebo can be MAGA
Please direct message to join our Focus Group on how innocuous placebos can "mutate" into insidious placebos(and vice versa: Moms replace baby's filthy thumb with a pacifier)...aka exposure, aka the first of the "3 Great Untruths"(google it)
I truly hope & believe the overwhelming number of US are sick & tired of Trump & GOP's hate & divisiveness
For me, America is not a melting pot but a beautiful tapestry of people who bring their beautiful cultures & heritages into a glorious quilt
I need to believe the overwhelming majority of US just want to live & improve their lives, love their families & communities & enjoy freedom & democracy
I love the vision of a beautiful tapestry where each person’s own uniqueness of self and culture can be proudly displayed and honored. To me, a melting pot image is one of blending in, whereas a tapestry allows for the weaving of a distinct cloth. A true vision of e pluribus unum.
I love every word of this. And especially the joyful part. I’m so very tired. The past nine years with this looming fascist threat, which I’ve actually felt lurking and undermining us all this time, has been both exhausting and infuriating.
What I would like for America is justice to be served, for Trump himself to be taken DOWN. The way Nixon should have been. No pardons. No more Mr. Nice Guy. I would like this detestable, sick man and those who helped plan the despicable January 6th coup to finally, FINALLY be held accountable. Every single one of them. Mr Trump belongs in a prison cell for the rest of his miserable life.
And most of all, America needs the pendulum to swing back hard to being the cool, smart people with class and elegance. Let’s bring back the genuine desire to be refined and intelligent and above all, to be kind and decent to one another.
I’m an optimist and believe that we will ultimately end up in a good place. I’m sincerely hoping that the published polls are skewed in favor of Trump because pollsters are overcorrecting for their 2016 error and the fact that young people are unreachable by phone.
I hope that Trump loses so BADLY that his attempts to call the election into question (which, he will certainly do) are laughed at by 80% of the population. However, that remaining 20% will need a lot of therapy in order to return them to something like normal humans.
Imagine wearing these kinds of shirts in front of them? 👇 🤔 🤣
I hope you’re right. Apparently since Dobbs Dems have done so much better than expected. And the poll models still are based on 2016 and 2020 assumptions when in fact they should use 2022 ones.
How can it go away when the Republican nominee for president of the United States of America mimes a vulgar sexual act with a microphone at a rally this weekend? I want them to report that. It's not vulgarity in the news that needs to go away. It's vulgarity in the brains and souls of MAGA that needs to go away.
I look forward to getting back to normal, when I could consider a Republican as a legitimate candidate. As a lifelong Dem I’ve always kept an open mind. Not this election. Nope. No effing way.
I was always an independent at heart, having been raised Republican. But the Republican party has become a deformed, grotesque version of conservatism I have not recognized in decades. And now it’s been hijacked by the despicable MAGA fascists. I long for a time when I would seriously consider the candidate as their own entity. Liz Cheney, a politician whose views I almost entirely disagree with, has shown that she’s a true patriot. And I deeply admire that.
In two words, education and participation. Through learning more about the history of “The American Experience” and how we got this far, for better or worse, will encourage those “students” of the beauty of our history and the strength of the American people. And through participation, we can help others see the light, encourage others to participate as well, and hopefully see the results of our own efforts as well as millions of others in continuing to build on our history. “The past is prologue,” Shakespeare wrote, and it’s never been more clearly true than in the current election cycle. We’ve been warned, we’ve tried our best to overcome the awful choice of Donald Trump, but win or lose we must continue to actively participate in each of our own ways to make our voices and choices heard. Onward! WE CANNOT GO BACK!
I hope for a country where everyone is safe. Where we can return to the respect that we used to show each other. And where we can be more reflective on the importance of our democracy.
I want to know that our Justice department is doing its best to protect us. That Russian and other foreign influence will be better controlled. I hope that we can honestly assess whether our traditions are sometimes getting in the way of progress. I would like to see democracy and safety prioritized instead of filibusters, the Electoral College, or magic numbers of Supreme Court Justices.
And I hope for better sleep. I want to be less distracted by the constant noise of modern US politics. I want to sleep at night knowing that the government is looking out for our collective best interests, rather than finding ways to benefit the wealthy or justify the behavior of DJT.
Being safe is not necessarily an American value. For example, the motto of the state of New Hampshire is: "Live Free or Die." Let's remember our rebellious roots. If Trump wins, we may have to fight on the ramparts again. As political activists (at least in word), we may be put in detention camps along with immigrants and other "undesirables." We have to be courageous and remember the Niemoller poem. Please read it again:
Safety does not imply that one does not stand up for other's rights. Safety means that we live in a country where respect for others is a core value. Where we want our children to be able to go to school without the fear of gun violence. Where we believe that corportations and other providers have responsibility to keep our food, water, and housing safe. I agree that safety is not an American value. It is a human value.
I hope he goes down in a blue wave so large that all his claims of fraud and all his lawsuits will amount to nothing. I hope the Supreme Court STAYS OUT OF IT. I hope there is no violence when the electoral college votes are counted and when President Harris is sworn in. And then I hope for republicans and democrats working together to help solve all the problems this country faces. And finally I hope that he PAYS for what he’s done be that total loss of all his money and possessions or jail. I don’t care which. No I haven’t been drinking this morning but given the unbelievable closeness of this race, I would be justified if I were.
I will be voting in person on Tuesday with my husband and my best friend. Why? Because I like the old school ritual and formality of the voting booth. Especially this year. Afterwards? We will be heading straight to a bar. Because, well, it’s this time in this place. And I feel no shame in that! My nerves are going to be edgy all day long along with millions of my beautiful fellow Americans, hoping so very deeply together that we can keep this great experiment of ours going. Cheers my friend, cheers to HOPE.
Election nights are the mostly only time I break out the Scotch instead of the wine. Depending on how the results are coming in, there is less of a chance for a hangover in the morning!
The will of the people will be heard on Tuesday with a decisive Harris win. And with this repudiation of his fascist desires Trump will do what ever it takes to avoid prison. Buckle up, it’s likely to be a wild ride. I’m ready!
Not much into religion these days, what with some of the examples so clearly on display currently, but borrowed from the celebration of Diwali - hopes for Light over Darkness, Good over Evil, and Knowledge over Ignorance.
I hope that the good people who’ve been bullied into silence realise how many more of them there are, than those spreading hate and terrorising the country. And that they use this knowledge to act decisively to break with a racist legacy, in the electoral college, in the Supreme Court, in law enforcement, in policy. If this isn’t a turning point, open conflict will be an ongoing part of American life. It’s not sustainable. Which is why I hope.
My hope for this wonderful country is that we truly honor the value of education, from K through 12 and beyond. Why is it that most thinking Americans are repelled by the orange grifter. They’re smart enough to know better.
Most of all, I wish for diminishing income inequality for the country. How the richest in our country hold onto enough of their wealth to keep earning more. While others are struggling to get by.
I’m a retired white woman who grew up in the NYC area, so all my life I knew of the racist narcissist and his disgusting antics. I know that his supposed business acumen was nonexistent, and his wealth was inherited and perpetuated because of his duplicity and luck. His hubris overshadows his minimal intelligence, and some people simply fall for it.
I’ve been a wreck these last few weeks, many nights losing sleep. I can’t take it, and I fear for our mental health if the worst happens. I’m also a reluctant atheist, so I don’t have a god to comfort me. At least I have a loving family and friends!
My greatest hope? Quiet, finally quiet. For nearly a decade, a torrent of lies has emitted from Donald Trump and his ilk. Abuse, ignorance, misogyny, racism—the list goes on. Please shut up, can’t think with all this noise.
So. Much. Noise.
Full of sound and fury … signifying nothing.
AMEN brother! Just peace and a return of sanity and truth would be so wonderful!
I agree. Make Politics Boring Again. But we also need to learn from this harrowing episode that civic engagement is crucial. We all need to participate. Part of what got us to this place is widespread apathy.
People need to be educated in civics. Far too many are clueless. Cluelessness breeds apathy, and apathy breeds hate and feelings of being left behind. That is what we've been seeing unfolding in real time. Trump taps into this even though financially he's doing just fine, nevertheless, his followers relate to his grievance.
I think you put your finger on the reason for the noise. It’s hard to think when you’re bombarded with noise. Noise can be used as a weapon or a tool. These days we are flooded with noise.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/16/20991816/impeachment-trial-trump-bannon-misinformation
1.
Emotional and Intellectual Maturity in 20 seconds?*
2.
Appreciation for the Joy of Dark Humor to kill egos at the earliest appropriate age(Middle School?)?**
3.
Rapid Disbarment(e.g., Diane Feinstein, Biden, Guiliani, clung to power too long)?***
4.
Replace "The Golden Rule" with "The Platinum Rule"...? ****
*Brief Mood Survey:
https://www.sutterhealth.org/pdf/services/holistic-integrative-medicine/mood-survey.pdf
...especially scoring these 15 science words in as little as 20 seconds?:Frustrated? Annoyed? Resentful? Angry? Irritated? Anxious? Frightened? Worrying? Tense? Nervous? Sad? Discouraged? Esteem? Worthless ? Anhedonia?
**https://drive.google.com/file/d/10sB0fqSY4fbyuRvWeSvif6HXW1gDFXru/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K_9SkawJH6sRq-V5718NFw79j_t_SsVm/view?usp=sharing
***https://americassbdc.org/is-mediation-your-best-option/
"A web search on mediation statistics indicates success rates that seem to hover around 85 percent, and reveals that mandatory mediation is only 10 percent less effective than that. It is astounding that even where parties do not want to mediate, the process brings them to their own voluntary resolution 75 percent of the time.
Simply put, mediation is “negotiation on steroids.” ..."
****Trump:"I'm gonna protect women whether they want it or not"
Me:"I 'Do Unto Others' my favorite Potluck dish: Peanut Casserole... Jesus never told me to ask if anyone had allergies..."
****"Feeling Great" by Dr Burns
page238
"I did a study at a community mental health clinic in New York to evaluate the accuracy of therapists’ and caregivers’ evaluations who brought children in for treatment. I asked the children, their therapists, and their mothers to rate how they thought the children were feeling.
When I analyzed the data, I was amazed to discover that the therapists’ accuracy was about zero. And the mothers didn’t do any much better! There was pretty much no correlation between how the children felt and how their therapists (or mothers) thought they felt.
The errors were not trivial. For example, the mother of one little boy rated his depression and suicidal urges at zero. She was convinced that her son did not feel depressed, and the therapist agreed with this assessment.
How did the boy actually feel?
His depression and suicidal scores were at the top of the scale! In the margin of the assessment test, he wrote that he had borrowed a gun from a friend and had plans to kill himself on Friday. In this case, mind reading* almost resulted in the death of a little boy, but the assessment test alerted the mother and therapist to what was really going on and likely saved his life."
*
https://www.google.com/search?q=cbt+%22mind+reading%22
Up to 60% of anxious people(e.g. ALL OF US) are cured by placebo... placebo can be MAGA
Please direct message to join our Focus Group on how innocuous placebos can "mutate" into insidious placebos(and vice versa: Moms replace baby's filthy thumb with a pacifier)...aka exposure, aka the first of the "3 Great Untruths"(google it)
I truly hope & believe the overwhelming number of US are sick & tired of Trump & GOP's hate & divisiveness
For me, America is not a melting pot but a beautiful tapestry of people who bring their beautiful cultures & heritages into a glorious quilt
I need to believe the overwhelming majority of US just want to live & improve their lives, love their families & communities & enjoy freedom & democracy
#HarrisWalz2024
I love the vision of a beautiful tapestry where each person’s own uniqueness of self and culture can be proudly displayed and honored. To me, a melting pot image is one of blending in, whereas a tapestry allows for the weaving of a distinct cloth. A true vision of e pluribus unum.
Very well said!
An image so creative!!❤️ Thanks ❣️
Well said. Amen!!💙💙💙
I love every word of this. And especially the joyful part. I’m so very tired. The past nine years with this looming fascist threat, which I’ve actually felt lurking and undermining us all this time, has been both exhausting and infuriating.
What I would like for America is justice to be served, for Trump himself to be taken DOWN. The way Nixon should have been. No pardons. No more Mr. Nice Guy. I would like this detestable, sick man and those who helped plan the despicable January 6th coup to finally, FINALLY be held accountable. Every single one of them. Mr Trump belongs in a prison cell for the rest of his miserable life.
And most of all, America needs the pendulum to swing back hard to being the cool, smart people with class and elegance. Let’s bring back the genuine desire to be refined and intelligent and above all, to be kind and decent to one another.
Well said, YES!!
Yes! Yes! YES!!
I think there's an available prison on Alcatraz where we can house all these people in intense security for the rest of their lives.
I hope this apparent fascination with autocratic leadership dies a quick death.
My hope if for the women of America to take control of our destiny!
I’m an optimist and believe that we will ultimately end up in a good place. I’m sincerely hoping that the published polls are skewed in favor of Trump because pollsters are overcorrecting for their 2016 error and the fact that young people are unreachable by phone.
I hope that Trump loses so BADLY that his attempts to call the election into question (which, he will certainly do) are laughed at by 80% of the population. However, that remaining 20% will need a lot of therapy in order to return them to something like normal humans.
Imagine wearing these kinds of shirts in front of them? 👇 🤔 🤣
teespring.com/stores/libtees-2
I hope you’re right. Apparently since Dobbs Dems have done so much better than expected. And the poll models still are based on 2016 and 2020 assumptions when in fact they should use 2022 ones.
I hope that the torrent of insults and vulgarity in what passes for “news” these days will go away.
How can it go away when the Republican nominee for president of the United States of America mimes a vulgar sexual act with a microphone at a rally this weekend? I want them to report that. It's not vulgarity in the news that needs to go away. It's vulgarity in the brains and souls of MAGA that needs to go away.
Please read this: https://www.nj.com/politics/2024/11/why-did-donald-trump-simulate-oral-sex-with-his-microphone-at-milwaukee-rally.html
My hope for America is that when Trump and his co-conspirators finally go to prison, the cancer he unleashed on the country will die.
THIS!
Sadly, unlikely: So much money in hatred these days.
I look forward to getting back to normal, when I could consider a Republican as a legitimate candidate. As a lifelong Dem I’ve always kept an open mind. Not this election. Nope. No effing way.
I was always an independent at heart, having been raised Republican. But the Republican party has become a deformed, grotesque version of conservatism I have not recognized in decades. And now it’s been hijacked by the despicable MAGA fascists. I long for a time when I would seriously consider the candidate as their own entity. Liz Cheney, a politician whose views I almost entirely disagree with, has shown that she’s a true patriot. And I deeply admire that.
I mostly hope…for hope.
The poorly disguised cynic in me whispers, “Yes.”
I hope for reconciliation. We are all Americans.
In two words, education and participation. Through learning more about the history of “The American Experience” and how we got this far, for better or worse, will encourage those “students” of the beauty of our history and the strength of the American people. And through participation, we can help others see the light, encourage others to participate as well, and hopefully see the results of our own efforts as well as millions of others in continuing to build on our history. “The past is prologue,” Shakespeare wrote, and it’s never been more clearly true than in the current election cycle. We’ve been warned, we’ve tried our best to overcome the awful choice of Donald Trump, but win or lose we must continue to actively participate in each of our own ways to make our voices and choices heard. Onward! WE CANNOT GO BACK!
I hope for a country where everyone is safe. Where we can return to the respect that we used to show each other. And where we can be more reflective on the importance of our democracy.
I want to know that our Justice department is doing its best to protect us. That Russian and other foreign influence will be better controlled. I hope that we can honestly assess whether our traditions are sometimes getting in the way of progress. I would like to see democracy and safety prioritized instead of filibusters, the Electoral College, or magic numbers of Supreme Court Justices.
And I hope for better sleep. I want to be less distracted by the constant noise of modern US politics. I want to sleep at night knowing that the government is looking out for our collective best interests, rather than finding ways to benefit the wealthy or justify the behavior of DJT.
YES!!!!
Being safe is not necessarily an American value. For example, the motto of the state of New Hampshire is: "Live Free or Die." Let's remember our rebellious roots. If Trump wins, we may have to fight on the ramparts again. As political activists (at least in word), we may be put in detention camps along with immigrants and other "undesirables." We have to be courageous and remember the Niemoller poem. Please read it again:
https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/first-they-came-by-pastor-martin-niemoller/
Safety does not imply that one does not stand up for other's rights. Safety means that we live in a country where respect for others is a core value. Where we want our children to be able to go to school without the fear of gun violence. Where we believe that corportations and other providers have responsibility to keep our food, water, and housing safe. I agree that safety is not an American value. It is a human value.
I hope he goes down in a blue wave so large that all his claims of fraud and all his lawsuits will amount to nothing. I hope the Supreme Court STAYS OUT OF IT. I hope there is no violence when the electoral college votes are counted and when President Harris is sworn in. And then I hope for republicans and democrats working together to help solve all the problems this country faces. And finally I hope that he PAYS for what he’s done be that total loss of all his money and possessions or jail. I don’t care which. No I haven’t been drinking this morning but given the unbelievable closeness of this race, I would be justified if I were.
I will be voting in person on Tuesday with my husband and my best friend. Why? Because I like the old school ritual and formality of the voting booth. Especially this year. Afterwards? We will be heading straight to a bar. Because, well, it’s this time in this place. And I feel no shame in that! My nerves are going to be edgy all day long along with millions of my beautiful fellow Americans, hoping so very deeply together that we can keep this great experiment of ours going. Cheers my friend, cheers to HOPE.
Election nights are the mostly only time I break out the Scotch instead of the wine. Depending on how the results are coming in, there is less of a chance for a hangover in the morning!
The will of the people will be heard on Tuesday with a decisive Harris win. And with this repudiation of his fascist desires Trump will do what ever it takes to avoid prison. Buckle up, it’s likely to be a wild ride. I’m ready!
I imagine it, the calm
of an autumn morning, only the hum
of leaves brushing the street,
the rare sound of a bird,
even the neighbor’s dog pausing
head tilted, as if pondering too,
this miracle of quiet.
For years, the world has quaked,
under a storm of bluster—
the kind that twists truth, uproots
decency like weeds from a garden.
The noise is everywhere,
picking locks, slipping into our thoughts
like an unwanted song on repeat.
I wonder, could we find it again,
that blessed quiet, could we hear
the soft-spoken wisdom hiding beneath,
like a letter slipped under a door,
a note passed in secret—
our minds at last unburdened,
free to settle, to listen, to just be.
What would we discover
in the stillness? Whispers of truth,
of kindness, fragile as spider silk,
waiting to be heard. Or perhaps
only the sound of our own hearts,
grateful, breathing again,
in the hush of a world finally at rest.
Thank you for this, Gloria.
Thank you for reading. ❤️
Your eloquence brought me to tears...of joy, of hope, of peace. May it come to rest in our souls, come Tuesday.
Beautiful! My hope as well.
That's gorgeous! Thank you.
Nice!!!
Not much into religion these days, what with some of the examples so clearly on display currently, but borrowed from the celebration of Diwali - hopes for Light over Darkness, Good over Evil, and Knowledge over Ignorance.
In my opinion, Darkness, Evil, Ignorance perfectly describe what Trump has brought to our country.
I hope that the good people who’ve been bullied into silence realise how many more of them there are, than those spreading hate and terrorising the country. And that they use this knowledge to act decisively to break with a racist legacy, in the electoral college, in the Supreme Court, in law enforcement, in policy. If this isn’t a turning point, open conflict will be an ongoing part of American life. It’s not sustainable. Which is why I hope.
Thanks for asking.
Good one.
My hope for this wonderful country is that we truly honor the value of education, from K through 12 and beyond. Why is it that most thinking Americans are repelled by the orange grifter. They’re smart enough to know better.
Most of all, I wish for diminishing income inequality for the country. How the richest in our country hold onto enough of their wealth to keep earning more. While others are struggling to get by.
I’m a retired white woman who grew up in the NYC area, so all my life I knew of the racist narcissist and his disgusting antics. I know that his supposed business acumen was nonexistent, and his wealth was inherited and perpetuated because of his duplicity and luck. His hubris overshadows his minimal intelligence, and some people simply fall for it.
I’ve been a wreck these last few weeks, many nights losing sleep. I can’t take it, and I fear for our mental health if the worst happens. I’m also a reluctant atheist, so I don’t have a god to comfort me. At least I have a loving family and friends!