I could feel it in my bones and even articulated it several times in the past several month – Trump has won. The attacks on Trump were falling on deaf ears, Many because they were poorly  constructed, many because they were exaggerations and some because they did not hit home beyond the liberal elite (which I am proud member of).

Where the mistakes were have been best summed up by Tiny Brown from the Guardian  in her post this morning in the Guradian.

It is particularly sad that Hillary will probably have won  the popular vote by over 2 million Americans (and we know where that got us last time that happened as the world suffers the after shocks of the Iraq invasion).  The result of an anachronistic voting procedure and Republican gerrymandering and intimidation and voting lines out the door. But that just sounds like wining now that we have the Donald coming to power.

Let us hope that, Trump, who really is no republican but really just a TV persona will not roll back healthcare and clean air and use some wisdom on his supreme court choice (to avoid abortion rights roll back and further destroy campaign finance reform).  Now I am sounding delusional.

Many Americans still live with a world view out of the Middle Ages and some with a life style out of the stone age.  But we have to think before we identify who is who and we all need to keep those reptilian dragons that are part of our brain in check. Not just the unemployed husband who over indulges and beats his wife but also the boss who berates a female colleague when really he is just having a bad day because he can.

Besides putting solar energy on your house, if you want practical advice on what to do mine is: listen more and remember you could be wrong, maybe  you are missing some of the facts. Concentrate on the facts

I just read a post on the 33 most dangerous cities in the world – mostly referring to murder rates and crime , makes sense.  At the same time I am reading a book entitled “How Did We Get Into This Mess?: Politics, Equality, Nature”. The book is  a series of essays, of which I am just starting. He is not particularly optimistic though and does a good job of turning some arguments on their heads.

Back to the 33 cities, many are in Africa and South America and the the rest seem to be in the middle East and the ‘Stans’.  I have only been to a few, Addis Ababa to name one. I found that city quite amazing and I was impressed with it’s people and their love for each other. The pollution and poverty and burgeoning ghettos of course were also impressive.  Of course if you compare it with Aleppo, Syria or Lagos, Nigeria it looks like suburban Seattle. Those kind of lists and those kind of essays form a collection that can wear down even the greatest optimist (which I used to be among). We still cannot give up the planet though. As I look at my grandson – less than a week old, I cannot give up. There is not much I can do but I can hope and I can look for the good in my own small ways. Grow more food and less grass, support a candidate who wants economic equality, create more social opportunities and less consumer ones. Stay informed. Don’t give up yet, the future is not yet written.

Yesterday was the anniversary of my friend – Jay’s death.

He was one of my best friends, someone I dearly miss on a daily basis. It is crazy how you live your life and you just feel like it will go on forever. You take people for granted and the one you love. We all do it, I guess it is another one of those characters that falls under the rubric of human nature.

If you read this note let it prompt you to love someone in what ever way you can for what ever time you have. Despite what some pundits say you can never give too much love.