Keep a light on
There is something quite surreal about watching an assassination attempt on live television. I write this as I blink away fatigue, as my brain feels filled with cotton balls, as I wonder. I wonder many things, my friends, as you do, I am sure.
First off, violence is never acceptable. We MUST denounce this savage act. A man was killed, a father. It is a dark day indeed. But as my phone blows up with texts, as I reassure many a frightened person, what I want to say to you and what I NEED to tell you is to keep the faith.
What happened is a tragedy. It will not affect the election. The election is NOT over. I see so many on social media wring their hands, thinking that invisible forces are conspiring to put Trump back in the White House. That is not true.
What IS true is that a deeply mentally ill kid of only 20 years climbed onto a roof and did something unbelievable. A single act of hate. A single decision that brought calamity.
We, too, must make decisions, so I ask all of you to make one. When the dust settles, it’s back to the game plan. I ask you to BELIEVE we can win, to fight harder in your activism than ever before, and to have hope.
Hope is the sweet melody, the harpsichord that guides us in everything we say and do. This assassination attempt, vile and horrid as it was, will not have much bearing on who wins the election. If you doubt me, simply look back in time at others who were also the victims of these attempts, like Gerald Ford, who lost.
Please do not let this define our party or yourself. Hope floats, but without you, me, and all of us, it can sink like a stone. We must keep our eyes open and our emotions at an even keel. I sleep a little tonight. I imagine many of you have been watching the coverage as well. Try not to let all of this get into your head.
Because at the end of the day, our mission is still the same. We will do EVERYTHING we can do, talk to every voter we can talk to, do everything humanly possible to win this election, and keep our country tinged in the light that only comes with democracy — and with the Democratic party. Donate to Palmer Report
