32 Comments
Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

You took the words right out of my mouth. I’d always go to bed wondering what fresh hell awaited in the AM, and there was always something awful. The whole four years of 45**’s administration was fraught with pain and heartache for all he was seeking to destroy. President Biden’s response to leading us out of the worst of the pandemic is refreshing. So many family and friends are either fully vaccinated or on their way. Still, “re-entry anxiety” is real because far too many have refused vaccination and/or won’t wear masks. There’s a long way to go on what’s been lost or destroyed, and my country is slowly making its way back. Climate/environment is one of the biggest remaining concerns, as is rebuilding our supportive alliances with other nations. As for the former guy, I will go down swinging to prevent him or anyone even slightly resembling him from gaining the Presidency again.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

Our marriage of 59 years has gotten stronger and more loving. We totally isolated ourselves in our winter condo in Florida. Changed our entire life plan and sold our home in Illinois that had all our memories and family momentos. Gave away most of them to family to build their memories. We haven't seen our children in over a year and a half. Two great grandchildren have been born. They are now walking and toddling around. Hopefully, we'll see them soon. Thank God, we remained in good health and hope to live enough life to make up for this lost year. We're feeling so fortunate that, even though younger family members did get Covid, they all had mild cases and are doing well. Life is good and more precious than ever.

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Apr 11, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

Calmer. Not as angry. More hopeful.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

As a resident of the tri-state area, I was well familiar with Donald Trump, so I did not think he would be a good president. It is not just a matter of policy differences, although there are plenty of those. I thought and still do think he is immoral. He has done nothing since announcing his candidacy to change that opinion. If anything, the complete lawlessness we saw in his presidency was beyond anything that I could have predicted. I am happy to have a decent human being as my president. Trump's presidency had not impacted my daily life, other than I was reading and watching a lot more political news than I used to. His so-called tax cut cost me more because I live in a SALT state. I think his negligent handling of Covid is the reason we are where we are today - half a million dead and climbing and no return to truly normal around the corner. I expect to see normal sooner with Joe Biden than I would with the Darwinian approach adopted by the Trump administration.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I agree with Sara. I always awoke with a sense of impending doom. I turned on NPR first thing, to see if we’d gone to war with Iran or North Korea. I was a voracious news hog, and felt like I had to be constantly “on watch” as the proverbial “adult in the room.” On Election Day 2016 I felt physically ill, and was more agitated and upset than ever for the duration of 45’s tenure. I donated more money than ever to 2020 races at the state and National level, even to those in states I seldom visit. I am trying to wean myself away from monitoring the news. I need to get off if Twitter and back to reading god books. But, every day, I am so proud of Joe Biden and the amazing team me has assembled. Such SMART, articulate people. I thank God every day for the Bidens, Stacy Abrams, and our two, Blue Georgia Senators!

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Apr 11, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I have a great sense of relief and hope especially as I am able to witnessing professional, skilled, and compassionate leadership in our government.

Slowly I am reconnecting with what I formerly believed is America. We as a nation have so much farther to go with accepting and honoring our fellow citizens and humans. The last administration unleashed deep rooted hate that I didn’t know was so present. The work of living up to the promise of America is great. How and if we get on that path is up to us all.

Now that I am fully vaccinated from COVID-19 I am able to spend time with my children and grandchild, and I have just met my 5 month old grandson for the first time.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

So many have already articulated the changes in our lives now that a dangerous dreadful man is out of office. What has changed for me is that i am no longer angry every single day. I no longer yell at the tv, mute the man, become enraged when i see the red hat in public. I am much happier now and hopeful for our future.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

It's much more pleasant to wake up and not be bombarded with comments from the lunatic in the WH. Although, the phrase repeated over and over - "Another constitutional crises" remains a real and present danger.

I fear for my country because the many bad demons who continue to contaminate our governing process. Evidence of the off-balance of power and warped agendas bubble to the surface every day. We have a hair-thin majority and a very short period of time to redirect. While obstructionists continue to block progress. Nothing seems more important than staying in office. There is a distinct difference between politics and governing. Too many in government confuse the two.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

it's like leaving hell and moving up to heaven!!!! what a mental calmness now!!!

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I think about this a lot. I also woke up each day wondering what possible disaster might happen. Now I find I can actually think about and focus on other things. There are still plenty of problems to be solved, but it's nice to have adults in charge!

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I am 68 (in Tacoma, Wa), and in poor health, so I've been pretty much a hermit.

I have been vaccinated, which has eased my stress to no end.

I still double-mask up, and observe distancing rules, but I can't tell you how much even this limited contact has meant to me, seeing friends I haven't seen and interacted with, in over a year.

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Apr 11, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I no longer gnash my teeth. I sleep through the night. I do not feel the need to check for calamity on Twitter when I wake up or every 15 minutes. I feel hope things could change. Excepting Republicans, they are a lost cause.

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I can sleep through the night

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I’ve gotten much more tolerant to view what is important to let me or get me upset about..and what is not. I have always fought for women’s rights: equal pay, reproductive and medical rights/freedoms and education. I no longer stay silent on how people treat others with lack of respect and decency. Equity is for all or none of us. I see how disruptive our own government can be and how easy it was to turn the government of the people against the people who cherish it and the democracy it stands for. I will have faith that truth will prevail and hate and injustices will be called out. When it gets hard...put my head down and keep doing the work that matters.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I’ve begun to more clearly see how vital it is to let things go. I hung on to every awful experience in my life and you can’t live peacefully that way. Having to stay home and getting sad from all the loss made me realize the anger I have is keeping me from moving forward. Literally being stuck has showed me I need to let go to get unstuck, not leave my house. It will take a very long time to forgive those who allowed all this to happen but letting go is the first stage of forgiveness and you must forgive to become who you are meant to be.

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Apr 10, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

Now I lose sleep over things I can control. Before I lost sleep over things I couldn’t control. Still not getting enough sleep. 😕

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My analogy is to being lost, but now I'm in territory that seems familiar. It's the calmness setting in after 4 years of near panic, culminating in an armed attack of the very symbol & seats of our Elected Representatives. In retrospect, terror was justified

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Getting my 2nd shot this week so that has really been on my mind. My disposition has changed a lot since the inauguration. My anxiety level has decreased, I’m much more positive about our future. All of the stress that everyone has listed, that was me. Now, I’m starting to reflect on the lessons of the past 5 years. What should I have learned, how can I use the experience I’ve gained to help me, my community & my country. One huge thing that I have realized, which many may disagree with, is this...My country, for as long as I can remember, has wanted us to become more united, not broken into bickering parties. As a lifelong Republican that always voted on the candidate / issue as opposed to straight ticket GOP, I do believe there are shades of gray. But, the past 5 years has been an awakening for many, including me. I did not vote for 45. In 2016, I, as a Rep., voted for the best candidate, which was Hillary. I had followed DJT life since the 90s & did not believe he possessed any of the strengths needed to be President. His presidency was worse than I ever imagined. One thing he did do was unite us agst his absurd definition of democracy, the Constitution, our govt, etc. A huge number of Reps. left the party and aligned with the Dem. & Ind. A huge number of people registered to vote & voted for the 1st time in their lives, like my 74 year old neighbor & her family. I am still conservative, am pro life (for me, & pro choice for everyone else), want healthcare for everyone, secure voting rights for everyone, corporate regs to keep corruption in check, 15.00 minimum wage, strict gun laws, support BLM & police reform. And I am a Dem now. What I want, is remarkably close to what a majority of Americans want. The Dem/Ind party memberships have increased while the Rep. party has decreased. For the 1st time in my lifetime people of all parties have merged to fight for some very basic principles...democracy, equality, justice and accountability, etc. agst tyranny, corruption, injustice, nepotism, lying, etc. Sure we hear a lot from individuals spouting communism, socialism, far left, etc., but most of those people can not really give you the definition or characteristics of any of those words. And they watch & listen to media that lies to them & tells them what to think. They follow. And they vote. But, we, of all political parties vote too & until now we have voted in larger #s. It is still shocking to think of the millions that voted for Trump. It is beyond shocking that millions of his voters believe the Big Lie & that many public/political figures endorse this belief, even though they know there was not any fraud in the last election. As a former high school American History /Government teacher this is difficult to process, nor comprehend. But, my point is, we came together, we organized, we worked, donated, marched, researched & knocked on doors & stood in line. People of all colors, ages, political party, gender, education & economic levels voted for democracy, Biden/Harris & agst tyranny & Trump. This moment continues to be our defining moment. We still have much to do. The midterms are crucial if we want long lasting change that supports democracy & our Constitution. We must start now to subtly educate the followers of our opposition. Keep in mind that many belief what they belief because they have self esteem sensitivities. Others believe what they believe because they benefit financially or socially from these beliefs. Some just don’t have a grasp of the US Constitution, nor a basic understanding of history. Whatever the reason, we need to try to spread awareness to continue to unite even more of us. We are not all going to agree on everything but we should agree that we are a democratic society, where the majority does rule. Where we strive to make our society more equal to support what all our ancestors fought so diligently for and to show our children the responsibility we all have to maintain this democracy.

Thank you to all the Dem/ Ind that offered me & many of my friends & family, safe harbor while we regrouped in 2017. We make a mighty team and can accomplish great things together.

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I guess I am part of the radical left. Joe Biden doesn’t Pat himself on the back and call others names. He just gets things done. I used to be glued to the television set to see what was happening next. Now I just follow my favorite people to get the latest news and I read lots of novels! I sleep better at night knowing the White House is in good hands and I can help get good democrats elected in the future!

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I wish I felt better. I live in KC MO and am a blue, vote straight ticket, Democrat. They still like tRump here. They liked the autocratic nature of that “administration” they understand that insurrection is traitorous, they just don’t care about anything but valuation of power. “Might is right” here in Missouri. So I don’t feel great about anything even though I love everything Biden is doing. Those people who stormed the Capitol are just “standing back and standing by” to do it AGAIN. 😡🤬

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January 20 was the day I breathed a big sigh of relief. For the first time in my adult life, I took a vacation day to watch the inauguration. On the one hand, knowing that the country was soon to be in more capable, compassionate, rational hands was exhilarating. And watching our first female Vice President being sworn in was one of the most profoundly moving experiences of this Baby Boomer’s life. On the other hand, the images of January 6th were always in the back of my mind and served as a stark reminder of just how close we came to seeing our government and way of life come to an abrupt end.

Since Biden took office, I no longer cringe when our president speaks nor do I feel compelled to yell at the TV during a presidential address. (I have, however, yelled at the press on occasion for asking what in my opinion are innate, ridiculous, and unnecessarily repetitive questions.) When President Biden is speaking, I frequently wonder if the sense of calm, purpose, and steady resolve he invokes are reminiscent of the feelings FDR stirred in my parents’ generation.

My stress level has gone down exponentially since January 20th. I no longer fear waking up to an overnight hateful incendiary Twitter feed. I look forward to White House press conferences and appreciate the informative, collaborative, consistent tone set up the Biden administration. While our country is still very divided, I now think there is hope that both sides of the political spectrum can eventually find common ground. Our country is facing numerous serious problems – recovering from the pandemic, addressing our aging infrastructure, finding solutions to systemic racism, lessening the wealth gap – to name a few. I’m grateful that we now have a serious administration focusing not on stoking fears and placing blame but on problem solving.

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I don't know how I got on this email distribution, but I have read enough to have my thinking reviewed and has made me contemplate different views.

This won't be published. I disagree with hell being abolished since Trump is out and Biden is in. Biden is a placeholder and puppet for the radical left. That's my thought if someone wants to beat me up now.

At least with Trump, he had no filters or anyone else giving him orders to follow. He just out and out said what he really thought. Sometimes crude, but millions understood what he was really trying to accomplish.

Biden wanted all of Trump's advances reversed completely which included cancelling building the wall. Well, now with the hell of a border crisis, there is at least contemplation to start building again? But it changes with the wind and how much pressure progressives put on Biden.

Yes. The country is changing, but will soon be just another socialist communistic place.

If that is what you want and believe should happen, then you will put your hands to the plow and ensure it happens despite millions of us deplorables who are a "cult" needing reprogramming like they do in communist countries.

That's all folks. Now berate me instead of showing any ability to even try to understand.

I fairly contemplated this site's positions.

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