27 Comments
Jul 24Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Yes to hope. I slept well this week for the first time in so long. Nothing is certain but I feel like the tide is turning.

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author

That's a great feeling!

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Jul 24Liked by Liz Gumbinner

You know how much I always go for the light, the hope, the joy. Thank you for this wonderful entry

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author

You truly do, Marilyn. I appreciate you!

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Jul 24Liked by Liz Gumbinner

I love the piece you wrote again, Liz. I had to deactivate my facebook recently because it just felt too negative. Sites like yours are a nice replacement, so I can get what I want (thought) and not what I don't. For the record, I probably have the same anxieties about French class (Madame Kelly?). But seriously, I also think that there is a sizeable component of men my age who understand feminism and have been ready for this change for a while. So I share your hope and appreciate your writing.

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Thank you Michael -- I'm so happy to hear this! We need more white men speaking up. (And for the record, Monsieur Whartenbee, A Block AP Fr. Still terrifies me.)

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Jul 24Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Yes, I feel it in my bones and in the spring of my step. Thank you!

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author

Love hearing that!

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Jul 24Liked by Liz Gumbinner

I feel like I can breathe again. That’s hope. It feels like oxygen.

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author

Perfect metaphor. Oxygen.

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I feel it!! It reminds me of those first two weeks Barbie was in theaters. Everyone was walking around wearing pink with silly smiles. People were dressing in costume and giggling. Obviously, this is A BIT more serious and consequential, but I feel that same effervescence, that same cheer and humor, that relief.

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I think that's a smart comparison. It's a good feeling when your people are all unified around something and you're all part of it together -- whether it's a candidate, a meme, a cultural moment, or an Oscar snub (ha).

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founding

It feels so good to feel so good.

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author

Yes it does!

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I’m disappointed that Joe dropped out, but I absolutely love the energy that the announcement of VP Harris as his endorsed candidate and the rapid endorsements from nearly every major Democrat and even some Republicans has created. I think it’s great to feel both optimism and determination at the same time again.

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Jul 24Liked by Liz Gumbinner

My chest is a little less tight right now than it has been of late, and I am fully embracing the joy and the hope. I know there will be no shortage of shenanigans coming from the other side over the next few months, but I haven’t felt so positive in such a long time. It feels different. It feels like we can really get this done this time. It feels like we can actually save ourselves, and that is a wonderful feeling. Thank you for saying all of this out loud.

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Reading your post and these comments was inspiring and hope filled. Today I feel like I had a transfusion after a severe battle with anemia!❤️🇺🇸

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As someone (like so many of us, you, as well) who has struggled through the last 8+ years alongside children who are filled with despair thanks to covid/Trump/parents who are NOT OKAY, I have an anecdote that is also hopey changey and want to align with where you are at, and where we are going! We've been dark (like so many of us) and were also out of the country for three weeks which encompassed the immediate aftermath of the awful debate, the attempted assassination, the RNC party, and as we landed back in the U.S., the announcement of Biden stepping down/endorsement of Kamala Harris. We were numb. Two days in after understanding what had just happened, I said, "I'm just going to turn on the news." After about a half an hour, my 18-year-old said, "This is exciting." And then talked to me about the Gen Z of it all. Spirits began to lift. My own included. I saw friends who said, "I'm excited." Friends who were as dark as I was/have been. My daughter said, "We're going to have a woman of color as President," and I started to smile. And my heart grew 10 sizes, I think. Oh. My. God.

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Jul 25Liked by Liz Gumbinner

My husband and I had six surgeries last year (not all bad) but I desperately need hope! This was a much needed read. I use block, unfriend, and mute freely. Echo chambers are needed when the alternative is mental anguish.

Glad to have found you on Threads again. I have been a fan since your early blogging years (I was Mom on the Rise).

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author

Kristina! How could I forget you! So happy to see you here — and really hoping there are no more surgeries in your near future ❤️‍🩹

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Jul 25Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Thanks so much!

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Yes we Kamala!!!

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Appreciate this piece in today’s political climate. I continue to wonder though how we will forward change when there is so much more these days we seem to disagree and cancel than unite. By this I mean, the acts of divide are often as simple as who we surround ourselves with and therefore we continue to only view life from that shared perspective. I hope to find ways we can stop discounting and walking away from one another by overusing the terms self preservation and self care.

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author

Thank you for reading! I think there are a few different issues at play. First, I believe there is more that unites us than divides us. We all want our families to be healthy, we want to make a living, we want our kids to be well educated… we just may disagree on how to get there. It’s always good to listen and try to have reasonable conversations.

That said, there’s a difference between disagreement on say, how much to fund the military, and having to debate someone whose beliefs create danger for you and your family.

When you are already in a vulnerable group, with your life and your human rights under attack, I think separation from those who wish you ill — and who support politicians who want to wield power to strip you of your rights and your dignity — is a reasonable form of self-care. If you want to argue with your uncle over tax policy at Thanksgiving, though, have at it.

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Reasonable is interpreted by life experience and the law quite differently, depending on race, education, trauma, and the list goes on… but yes, we agree on all except that we are uniting on more than dividing. I am truly blown away by what some folks are willing to risk because it’s not their autonomy at risk!

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We don’t know enough

to call it quits and give up.

Hope improves our odds.

Goodness bets on hope,

trusting we won’t drop the case.

That’s how progress works.

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author

❤️

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