Falling Back, 55. The First Step to Decency.

That's that for that. Joe Biden is now the President-Elect. I was at the last supermarket I visit on Saturdays, waiting at the doorway for the rain to let up enough to dash with my cart all the way out to my car. I heard a ping on my phone. Since I wasn't doing anything, I looked at it. The Guardian was bringing me the latest news. So did The New York Times. Finally, the tide turned and we have a decent man and woman in the White House. 

Of course, despite the relief, the sweet relief, that sanity will once again trod those halls, there are dark shadows. Trump is still bleating that the election was rigged and that most of the votes for Biden are fraudulent. Lawsuits that he tried to bring in Michigan and other states were thrown out as frivolous, and without evidence. Yes, there will be recounts, especially in Georgia, where the difference is quite small. But, while total votes for Biden may not be in the tens or hundreds of thousands, they are enough for him to win those states. 

So, Trump will try to do everything he can to stay where he is. Somehow, I don't see him greeting Joe Biden and his wife, like Barack and Michelle Obama greeted Trump and Melania at the inauguration four years ago. I can picture him either leaving the night before, after trashing the living quarters and taking anything that catches his eye, or being escorted off the premises in a fit of rage that same morning. But one person and his private entourage are not the most dangerous part of this change of power.

The most dangerous part is the mob that will still believe that their leader has lost fraudulently. There will be some amongst them that will try their utmost to stop the change of power, even possibly through the use of firearms. If there was a conspiracy that wanted to storm a convention center in Pennsylvania where votes were being counted, and another one earlier to assassinate the Democratic governor of Michigan, who is to say that there won't be other conspiracies to foment pain and strife among those whom Trump's followers think are the ones guilty of stealing the election?

Tolerance is what every society should strive for, but there are moments when intolerance should be the norm. Those moments are when the private opinions of a few people spill out into the public arena and try to commit atrocities. There should be no tolerance whatsoever of actions and words that pretend to hurt or to destroy. That is not censorship. That is stopping any action that will damage others. Your opinion stops where my integrity begins.

And my opinion stops where your integrity begins, too. This intolerance of damaging words and actions works both ways. And that is the only way the country can begin to heal again, slowly. All opinions are valid, as long as they don't trespass against others rights and freedoms. It will take many years to rebuild the country to what it should be. I probably won't see it in my lifetime. But it's worth working toward.

Life continues.