Did you feel that, America?

The steady, throbbing kick-drum rhythm thundering throughout this land on election night?

Boom boom…boom boom… boom boom…boom boom…

You could feel it in Michigan…and in Detroit,and New York,and California,and Virginia.and New Jersey.

Boom boom…boom boom… boom boom…boom boom…

In historic gubernatorial races, in flipped Congressional seats, and in shifted city councils…

Boom boom…boom boom… boom boom…boom boom…

It coursed through Mikie Sherrill,and Zohran Mamdani,and Mary Sheffield,and Ghazala Hashmi,and Abigail Spanberger.

Boom boom…boom boom… boom boom…boom boom…

This incessant pounding reverberated throughout this beautiful though beleaguered land:

It was the pulse of Democracy returning.

You see, this wasn’t just an election; it was proof of life.

This was irrefutable evidence that the beautiful collective heart of our nation is still functioning.

It was much-needed confirmation that our two-hundred-and-fifty-year-old Republic, though terribly wounded, is not dead.

And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

We who have labored for the last excruciating, heartbreaking, infuriating months in the cause of stewarding America’s promise have had good reason to believe her a lost cause.

We’ve had to witness unthinkable human rights rollbacks, staggering Constitutional disregard, and unfettered brutality at the hands of our leaders.

We’ve watched human beings ripped from carpool lines and thrown into stifling human kennels.

We’ve seen history bulldozed for a billionaire’s ballroom as he intentionally starves tens of millions of us.

We’ve endured the rising vitriol of bullies and bigots who feel emboldened by having a kindred spirit in the White House.

And this has left us all dangerously low on resolve, sitting somber vigil over something beloved that was surely in its last days.

Though we’ve continued to do our best to go about the work of living, many of us have silently or quite vocally declared our cause as fruitless.

And now, we know better.

This election has offered a strong dissenting opinion to the narrative in our heads that we are beyond saving, that hope is lost, that expiration is imminent.

We aren’t dead yet.

And friends, now that you and I have conclusive evidence that we’re still alive, it’s time to get up and live; to breathe deeply from our second winds, to newly clarify what matters to us, to pull from the deepest reservoirs of our resources, and to make certain that this is not merely a short reprieve from the grave.

This day cannot be a landing pad; it must be a launching pad.

Those with contempt for life here, those who’ve been working tirelessly to eradicate diversity, will react more violently than ever to the news of Democracy’s survival, and we must be there to defend it at any cost.

The coming days will surely be difficult, but at least we’re here for them.

So, as you prepare to walk into this new dawn, press your fingers gently into the side of your neck and feel that:Boom boom…boom boom… boom boom…boom boom…

It’s good to be alive.

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