Earlier today I went to a DHL office here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to pick up my new, ten-year U.S. passport, which I’ve waited many weeks to receive: 

           

My previous passport, issued in 2014, when my plans to retire to Mexico were just beginning to germinate, expired in September, so I applied for a new one. Frankly, I doubt I’ll be needing this new passport. I have no plans to do any international travel in my 80’s, especially not to Donald Trump’s U.S.A.       

For those of us U.S. citizens here in San Miguel who voted from afar for Kamala Harris and felt sure she would win to become the first woman U.S. president – following Mexico’s impressive lead in electing a woman president this year – the results of the U.S. election this week were devastating. The cold numbness I felt at first, due to too many thoughts and emotions ricocheting wildly in my mind and heart, is beginning to thaw now, so I’m striving to make some sense of it all.

Oddly, one of my first reactions to the news that Trump won was relief: Oh, thank God, I thought, there won’t be an imminent civil war! I’d read a chilling article in the new New Yorker the previous day about the millions of Americans who were seriously prepping — including arming themselves with combat rifles — for a civil war, in case things didn’t go their way. Well, WHEW, those types got their way. Civil war postponed. 

Similarly, I was relieved that there wouldn’t be violence, bloodshed, or torch-bearers marching threateningly in the streets. Those types won. They’re celebrating now and not, for the moment anyway, aiming their rifles at anyone, including, for example, Liz Cheney or Kamala Harris.

I also felt relief that the decision was mercifully quick: Like a freshly sharpened guillotine blade. It would not drag on agonizingly for weeks and weeks, as it did with Bush and Gore in 2000 when I was living in Ségou, Mali, West Africa. There in Mali, where everyone was closely following that election  on their shortwave radios tuned to Radio France, the Africans I interacted with commiserated with me daily. They were all rooting for Gore, as was I, and expressed their sincere sorrow to me when he ultimately lost.

Also, oddly, some of my initial reactions included thankfulness. I was deeply thankful to Kamala for the hope that she gave us, albeit short-lived, that the U.S. could and would be wise enough to elect a supremely qualified woman over a proven unqualified man. I was thankful for all her hard work, her stamina, her smarts, her unwavering dignity and grace. I was particularly thankful for her gracious concession speech, which underscored the country’s proud tradition of peaceful transfers of power — something Trump proved incapable of doing four years ago when he lost and certainly would not have done this time around had he lost again. I felt thankful that she has shown herself to be a shining role model for countless women and girls, not only in the U.S. but around the world.

And she’s not finished. In her concession speech, she said, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. Hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright — as long as we never give up. And as long as we keep fighting.”

Unlike many of my good friends who, fortunately for them, never had the great misfortune of crossing paths in their long lives with a man such as Trump, I was not shocked by the outcome of this election. No, shock was not one of my reactions; rather, what I felt was more like déjà vu. I know from experience how charming such con men can be and how easily their unsuspecting prey can be bamboozled by their promises and lies. Yes, Virginia, the “bad guys” do win sometimes. Sorry to say. C’est la vie.

But my over-arching feelings about all this, I think, are sadness and dread. Trump’s clear win this week is a setback for all who, still, despite all, attempt to cling to the priceless American ideals we were all taught in school – equality, liberty, and justice for all. Meaning ALL.

As I see it from this distance, Trump’s U.S.A. in this, his second opportunity to run the country, will reflect his character more than ever: White supremacy will reign supreme. The patriarchy will rule. Xeno-, homo-, trans- and other such phobias will be unbound. Respect for elders will be a foreign concept. Dinero will be dios. The young white men with their newly deepened voices who gather to chant, “U.S.A.!…U.S.A.!…U.S.A.!” might well add to their chant, “über alles.”

Despair is a tempting emotion, but it gets us nowhere. As Kamala reminded us all in her concession speech, “You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world. And so to everyone who is watching, do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves.” 

Roll up sleeves, yes, and I would add: take stock. If you are young and strong and have the wherewithal and the stomach for it, by all means, stay with the struggle and continue to fight – peaceably and intelligently – against great odds, for decency and equality in the U.S. If you no longer have the youth and strength for this, I would suggest you investigate the possibility of emigrating. The world is big – close to 200 countries in all – and some of them, like the country I now gratefully call home, Mexico, are warm, welcoming, and affordable. 

Human beings have been migrating in search of better places to live ever since mankind began walking on two legs. All of our forebears – if we’re not Native Americans – came to the U.S. as immigrants or slaves. We are free to leave now. We have options. It’s not jumping ship. It’s pulling up your own anchor and sailing on. It’s worth looking into. And I’ve found it’s possible to do good, too, from a distance.

First step: make sure your passport is not expired; it may be a long wait for a new one.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Here’s a worthwhile article on countries worth considering: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/6-countries-with-temporary-residency-visas-for-us-citizens-034836250.html