Thanks for voting and considering my posts about different ways to make sure every possible vote for good and justice gets cast. Today’s post for Election Day 2024 explores what’s next.

Short of the polls being totally wrong and a landslide for Harris or Trump, we likely won’t know today who won this election. Maybe not even this week? There is no certainty about how this contest will end.

And the truth is it won’t end. Regardless of who wins, the same fights will continue. Given that, today’s post is about how we prepare to continue the long-term fight for love to conquer hate, for freedom and equality to overcome structural racism, white supremacy, and the Christian Nationalism that fuels it. 

An important first step for preparing for the long battle ahead is to pause, take a breath and take stock. There may well be some people, depending on the election results and how prevalent violence and retribution become in America, who are at physical risk. Our first responsibility is to stand with and defend anyone at risk. 

For most people, it may look easy to go back to business as usual, whatever that is. That would be called denial. When a country is so divided, there is work ahead to restore unity and civility. 

The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh offers much wisdom on how to be here now, no matter what is going on. In one of his several small, delightfully easy-to-read, and life-affirming books How to Smile, he opens with this simple guidance for peace: “We have a lamp inside us, the lamp of mindfulness, which we can light any time. The oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps and our peaceful smile. If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.” 

The remainder of the book offers simple, clear direction on how to breathe and smile our way into healing our wounds and extending love to all. I have found it very encouraging in thinking about what’s ahead. We will all need some kind of spiritual anchor to face the work ahead. What’s yours? 

 What’s ahead is the work to build a community where racial justice and equity are real and tangible. It’s a multi-generation effort that will continue for decades. In thinking about the years ahead, I am reminded of my friend and anti-racism activist A. Adar Ayira’s question in a post here earlier this year: What are white people doing to push back against White Christian Nationalism and the growth of overt racism in America? 

Again, if the polls are correct and almost half the country supports Donald Trump, there is a lot of work to do. Attention to racial justice in America is episodic at best. Events like George Floyd’s murder or the killing in Charlottesville mobilize whites and a multi-racial coalition for a short time. There may be some short-term gains. Then many of us whites turn to another issue or realize we will have to give up some privilege for real change to occur; we head back to the status quo. Meanwhile, those opposed to racial equity and justice are continuing to mobilize and attack racial equity on election boards, school boards, local and state elected positions everywhere.

Americans have many concerns besides racial justice. Yet a deeper look shows clearly how racial injustice and inequity are central to these issues. The devastation and uncertainty for all caused by climate change and the spread of war around the globe are real threats and deserve our attention. Yet to make real progress on these issues, our nation needs a multi-racial, urban/suburban/rural coalition that is committed to working long-term for change. 

In practical terms, this means we need to learn from other social change movements, and encourage one another to make the long-term commitment to become and stay involved in work for racial justice. For us as white people, this starts with personal self-examination. Our hands are not as clean as we think. We want more equity, yet have a hard time seeing how we get in the way of progress. It’s by what we do or don’t do, by holding old beliefs about how power is shared or not. We don’t know what privilege we hold.

My personal plan for what comes next is to double down on breathing, smiling and praying to be an instrument of peace. I will continue to ask myself what’s mine to do in order to advance racial justice in America. Hopelessness and despair undermine our commitment. It’s time to sign up for the long-term battle for racial justice in America and see it as our life’s work. It has to be if we want change.