Stop Despairing: The election is still in your hands and mine

By Kelly Fenton

Despair is not an option.

Panic is not an option.

Neither are they warranted nor do they serve any purpose.

The fundamentals haven’t shifted one iota since the debate on Thursday night.

Freedom is still on the ballot.

Democracy is still on the ballot.

Social security, health care and the entire social compact is on the ballot.

Decency is on the ballot.

The environment is on the ballot.

Your and my future and, more importantly, the future of our kids and grandkids is on the ballot.

In other words, everything that mattered Thursday afternoon mattered Friday morning and matters today.

That has to be our guiding light. And that has to be our message — more so than ever – to voters who might understandably be wavering a bit after President Biden wasn’t his best self in the debate.

Let’s acknowledge he had a stumbling performance, then pivot to all he has done in office. Let’s make the case that skillful and thoughtful governance is what matters, not a media dog and pony show.

And as always, let’s hammer home the monstrous alternative, a malignant narcissist who will do away with all of the above items that matter so much, appoint more Christian nationalist judges and usher in another even darker era that our country might not survive..

Biden stumbled in a debate; Trump is a convicted felon, a rapist, an election-thief, a bully and a malignant narcissist. This is the choice between a slightly tough steak and a bowl of soup full of glass.

So it’s time to put the debate behind us; it’s time to stop posting hair-on-fire messages on social media. It’s time to get to work to convince voters to make what is still an obvious choice in this election: Decency or darkness; democracy or tyranny; freedoms or their denial; a government for all Americans or just the chosen few; a thriving future for our children or a struggle to even survive.

Stop despairing. Start working. This is still ours to win.