It was just a chance conversation, two guys watching a soccer practice, but it saved my day.
Muting the talking heads, I’d been discouraged at how far apart we all were. You know the old pre-election can’t-we-all-get-along. Well it’s going to work out.
Week after week, as soccer dads and soccer moms, we’ve paced the sidelines, cheering on the daughters we love. You get to know all the kids, you root for them, you care for them. You hear their parents, too, sharing tender confidences. You hear parents call your child’s name, cheering her on. You do the same. Week after joyful week.
It’s easy to talk sports, Carolina versus Duke. We’re evenly split. Politics is different, trickier to talk about. The exit poll bumper-sticker tally is dead even.
But this past weekend, we joked about voting early and canceling out each other’s vote.
“I think my older daughter’s already canceling mine,” he joked.
These are serious times, but this election’s not the end of the world. A white male millionaire is going to win. We’ll all feel relieved it’s over.
Fences will be mended, neighbors will be good neighbors again.
In our own ways, we’ll each think globally, act locally. That’s the way it’s done, that’s the way it works.
Cheering each other on, whether they’re in the blue column or the red, is the way of the post-election future. –john valentine
