Celebrate, News

Walking on Sunshine

78 Comments

Yesterday, I felt as though a great weight had been lifted from me.  Pennsylvania was called for Joe Biden, and he therefore had more than enough votes to win the electoral college, the arcane way our country selects a president. Each state is assigned a number of  electors, who in turn have one vote. The number of electors in each state are based on population. In turn, those electors are pledged to vote how the majority in each state has voted. The winner must get at least 270 votes. With Pennsylvania, Biden reached 279. (President Trump has vowed to challenge in court the results of the election. The general feeling is that too many votes have gone to Biden for any of the challenges to change the outcome of the presidential race.)

Do I think this is a strange way to elect a president? Yes, I do. But it is the system this country has, and for now we must go with it.

At any rate, despite the fact that Trump has not conceded—customary but not required—Joe Biden is now our president-elect. There was literally dancing in the streets as people across the country celebrated the news.

On Saturday night, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and President-elect Joe Biden gave speeches that were full of empathy, hope, grace, and resolve. On the stage I saw joy and love as their families joined them after the speeches were over.

As they face formidable challenges in this country and around the world, Biden and Harris will need every bit of grace and resolve they can muster.

Best of luck to them!

And the song below, sung by the buoyant Katrina & The Waves, exactly captures the way I felt yesterday.

 

Correction: My daughter, Shannon, very nicely let me know that when Pennsylvania was called the numbers were 273, before Nevada was added. ;))

78 thoughts on “Walking on Sunshine”

  1. There is a lot of work ahead to get this country back on the road to peace.. The voters have done their job, now we must all pull together to make it happen. The next 2 months will still be a nail biter.

    1. Oh, you bet! And we have to keep in mind that nearly half the electorate wanted Trump. Those issues must be dealt with. I have been thinking about this a lot.

      1. I was shopping in another town yesterday, and on the way back to my car when I heard screaming, and saw a small crowd gathering. A man was being beaten on the street. For police cruisers showed up, 2 went off to find the other party in the fight. The one left was on the ground was shirtless and had been bloodied up, and was being interviewed along with someone who appeared to be a witness. Tensions are very high. I was glad to get home.

      4. Laurie, that half who voted for Trump is what haunts me, as well. Just like four years ago, I am left thinking “Who ARE you people?” That almost half the country thinks his behavior is even tolerable is what has me concerned. SO happy that Biden and Harris won. But, there is a ton of work ahead for them and all of us to set this country right.

      5. You are so right. A ton of work. It’s not good when one half of the country thinks the other country must come from outer space. I don’t want to fall into the trap of hating “them” and am working very hard to extend compassion to those who seem dangerously wrong-headed. This will be an ongoing task for me. Alas.

      9. So true, Laurie. I don’t think I feel hate towards the people who voted for Trump. I just feel confusion and sadness, I think. I just can’t get over the numbers. I feel like almost half of our country doesn’t want things to get better for black people, LGTBQ people & immigrants, and that is unfathomable to me.

  3. I was thinking about you and my other American friends when the results came through yesterday… we were certainly celebrating. Oh, and one other lovely thing I discovered today is that your new president has a dog from a rescue – the first rescue dog in the White House 🙂

  5. Wishing you all a peaceful transition Laurie and may the healing begin xxx

  6. I am so pleased for you Laurie, your country and the rest of the World. They have started well by all accounts. I do so hope that divisions will heal quickly.

  8. I echo your feelings. I watched TV yesterday afternoon and evening and was amazed by all the joy expressed on the streets. A huge release of tension, some relief at last for most of us. (Was worried about the virus spreading through the crowds, though.) Finally, things have started to turn around. We’ll still have to hang on tight until after the inauguration.

  9. Perfect song choice!!! It’s amazing how quickly tension can disappear when you receive good news, one second I was so tense watching the coverage thinking we wouldn’t know until early in the week and in the next moment Biden’s photo was on the screen as the projected winner and I was smiling and laughing and could instantly feel my shoulders begin to relax. Thankfully we have someone who doesn’t need help from the current administration during this transition after all his years in Washington and the White House and can immediately begin preparing. I was thrilled to see he already has his COVID-19 task force ready to be announced tomorrow. Our state, along with the country, is setting daily new record highs in cases (6,200 yesterday) and I already have more faith in how the pandemic will be handled after one day than I have all year. Loved their speeches and looking forward to their leadership and empathy.

    1. You got that right! Really, I felt as though a load had been lifted from my shoulders. I think Biden and Harris will hit the ground running, with Covid-19 as well as many other things. And, yes, wonderful speeches!

  12. I was so happy yesterday I cried, and I cried again watching the celebration in Wilmington last night. They are both like a tonic for wounded souls. I hope, too, the country can heal, but there are those who won’t even try. And then Alex Trebek died. I have watched him for the 30+ years he’s been on (even auditioned for Jeopardy!), so it’s very sad. He was so brave and honest about his illness.

    1. Yes, a tonic. I, too, have wounded by all the outpouring of hate. Like you, I hope the country will heal. For one half of the country to hate the other is really, really, bad. Toxic. A trap that I certainly don’t want to be caught in.

      Very sorry about Alex Trebek.

  16. Stepping lighter today! The whole is celebrating right along with us. It will be a long road ahead, but at least I have confidence that the Biden/Harris team will truly serve the greater good.

  18. Walking on sunshine is right! Our neighbourhood was very quiet for a few days as we all watched the US election closely, and what a relief when we saw the Biden numbers increasing! How wonderful to see and hear Biden and Harris speak with such hope and unity. It will be a hard road ahead for the Democrats, especially with Covid 19, but very good to know that the White House now has a pragmatic, compassion leader, and no doubt a good team with him.

    1. Thank you, thank you! Wonderful to hear them speak and to see them with their families. Yes, so good to know that somebody competent and compassionate is in charge. What a big change!

  22. I haven’t been following the Election with much attention so I have no idea how good Biden will be. But lets face it he can’t be any worse than Trump! What intrigues me is that all the serious candidates seemed to be my age or older – do Politicians in the US never give up? Do they not have other things to do with their lives?

    1. You got that right! When will they make way for the younger generation? It’s coming, and Kamala Harris will be our next president. Fingers, toes, and everything else crossed.

  25. Laurie, I am very happy for you and your countrypeople who have earned the right to celebrate.
    Your neighbours to the north were celebrating too, though most of us were very Canadian about it and did so quietly in our homes and neighbourhoods. The two countries are so entwined that every major thing done in your countries affects us too, some seriously.
    Now, of course, the hard work has already begun, but after the anxiety and suffering of recent years, you deserve some time to just feel the joy.

  27. I actually cried of joy when I read the news, I hadn’t even understood how much tension this had created, although I live in Europe.
    Best of luck to you all! I’ve been delighted to see some encouraging speeches of hope, peace and unity, finally a future president who behaves as a president should.

  28. This post makes me smile Laurie with the walking on sunshine, I hope it all goes well there and things fall peacefully into place 🤞❤️

  29. When Pennsylvania was called, I burst into tears, Laurie. Such incredible relief. I hope the next ten weeks go by smoothly, and we start a new administration full of kindness.

  30. Like all the others here, I was relieved to see that Biden had crossed the line to win. You are right though, you are not out of the woods yet. I wish Biden a long and successful Presidency. I do hope one of the Trump nutters doesn’t try to assassinate him. Perhaps the Trump supporters fears will be unfounded and things will settle as they see what positive change he and Kamala will bring.

  31. Laurie, I am so pleased for you and hope that the Biden/Harris team will bring peace and unity to your country. I didn’t follow the election at all closely but I know that their job is not going to be easy. I follow a woman on Blogger who is about our age, works in her town library, who lives in Connecticut and who voted Republican and is very unhappy and extremely worried. She doesn’t necessarily like President Trump or all he stands for but she is a Republican through and through. She could not vote Democrat.
    This divide in your voting public is similar to the divide we have in Britain with regard to belonging to the European Union. It is four and a half years since the vote to leave Europe and we are still divided and angry and I cannot think how we will ever find unity and peace again. Even the pandemic has done nothing to get us to work together. We are hampered by our political leaders (the Labour party is in turmoil and all other parties are too small and inexperienced) in whom we have no faith. We have ‘gone to the dogs’.
    I wish you and your country all the best.

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