Don't Worry, Be Happy

In every life we have some trouble

But when you worry you make it double

*          *          *

'Cause when you worry your face will frown

And that will bring everybody down*  

Anyone who has followed my blog, especially the last several posts, knows that I very strongly supported Joe Biden for President.  I felt buoyed the evening before the election as I heard pollsters predicting a ten-point lead for Biden across the nation as well as significant leads in swing states.  Beyond Biden, many were talking about a Blue Wave, or even a Blue Tsunami in which Democrats would take over the Senate and make strong gains in the House of Representatives.

But like many Democrats whose expectations were dashed four years ago, I worried.  Could the pollsters and pundits be wrong again?  Was it possible that tons of “shy” Trump voters would come forward in 2020 to re-elect Trump and elect Republicans to Congress?

I worried, but I tried to convince myself that it was not possible.  Trump won in 2016 by a razor thin margin.  Surely, after four years of lies and misinformation, of insults and bullying, of incompetence in managing the pandemic, those voters who simply did not like Hillary Clinton and did not know Trump four years ago would overwhelmingly vote to turn him out of office.

Then the 2020 election happened.  On election night as the networks began reporting the votes, I felt as if someone had ripped my heart from my chest and stomped on it.  Florida looked promising, but then it slipped away.  Ohio did the same.  Texas followed.  As the evening wore on, Trump won everywhere he had won in 2016 and Biden’s states were the same as those that Hillary had won.  States that I thought Biden would easily flip were reported as too close to call.  In my home state, Pennsylvania, Trump had a huge lead with mail-in ballots not yet counted.  It began to look like a repeat of the heartbreaking election of 2016.  There was no blue wave as Republicans won Senate and House seats that Democrats expected to win.  Needless to say, I did not get much sleep as my worries kept me awake.

But then, over the next several days, states began to be called for Joe Biden – Wisconsin and Michigan were bricks in a “blue wall” being rebuilt.  Biden’s electoral count hit 253, and several states were trending in a positive direction.  Then maddeningly, it seemed to get stuck there.  Each morning I would wake up with hope that Biden would be projected to win another state – Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia – please call one of them, I prayed.

Finally, around 11:30 on Saturday morning, the major networks projected that Joe Biden would win Pennsylvania, giving him 273 electoral votes and the victory.  Nevada followed with another six electoral votes boosting his total to 279, with the possibility of more as votes continued to be counted in Arizona and Georgia.  People were dancing in the streets of Philadelphia and other cities in the United States and around the world.

I felt jubilant as well.  For a few minutes – well, perhaps for a few hours.  Then I began to worry.  Trump was filing lawsuits everywhere.  Sure, everyone seemed to say they had no merit, but I feared some crazy Trump appointed judge might decide to take action to reverse the voters’ decision.  Then Trump’s Republican enablers in Congress offered support to his unsubstantiated notion that there was widespread fraud, and the election results could be overturned. 

But then slowly, so slowly, some Republicans began to raise their voices to support nation over party – Murkowski, Romney, Sasse, Collins, and even Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania.  Joe Biden held a press conference and seemed certain that the results would be accepted, and he would be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.  Every example of alleged fraud put forward by Trump’s people shriveled to nothing in the harsh daylight of increased scrutiny.

Consequently, the high anxiety that has gripped me is slowly beginning to dissipate.  There is still
plenty to be worried about – not whether Joe Biden will take office in January but whether Trump’s actions will result in unnecessary violence if his supporters decide to take out their frustrations on fellow citizens that support the winning candidate. 

But as Bobby McFerrin sings, “In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double.”  So, I’ll try really hard to listen to his advice.  Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

 

*“Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” by Bobby McFerrin