lots of tears today, I'll admit. relief, joy, and optimism, but then somehow trauma, shock, and mourning at the same time.
to anybody who might troll this thread and offer some "lulz baby" to that:
my sister is a teacher and has suffered. I have friends who work as doctors and lawyers and have been bewildered by the pointlessly evil efforts and mandates of this administration. and economist friends have been gobsmacked and fear the insane bubble-burst we're going to see when all the policies that favored stock buybacks and trickle-down hogwash come crashing down and hurting middle-class families the most. plus, our national security and telecommunication efforts have been the laughing stock of the world. it's been maddening and embarrassing if you've paid any attention, with so little "winning."
...with the exception being, staying out of armed conflicts we arguably should have been a part of in terms our moral code, but backing off of to please mighty Putin, all while playing loosey-goosey with Iran and North Korea as a form of destructive, unproductive theater.
I'm not sure I can think of anybody who has praise for this administration beyond the biggest financial cheats in the world. which his pardons made abundantly clear.
so watching everything today, and seeing an earnest, principled, and policy-backed pledge to rebuild this nation... I lost it. I absolutely lost it, for all of the things above plus the "executive is meant to lead and connect with us as our humble servant" level. god.
the last four years haven't been a fever dream to me. they've been all too predictable if you read any WW1 and WW2 history books. I'm only shocked that we didn't see more outward-facing rot. but I'm still curious how much rot from within can be fortified and fixed up in the next two years.