Let's See What Happens

My son sent me a text early this week:

"Black people are going to suffer, right?" He asked.

I sensed that it was an important conversation and we went back and forth for quite some time, talking about what he'd seen over the last year. Essentially, I mentioned:

"I'm hoping that it won't be a time in our history that we regret."

Yet, it was a surprising question coming from my son, who has lived his life not afraid of any particular group of people.

"A lot of what happened was a product of fear and rage," I told him. "People are often afraid of the unknown, and are enraged by the troubles they've faced along the way. Fear and rage got us here. It won't benefit us to stay stuck there. We have to see what happens now."

Not particularly reassuring, but it is difficult to grasp what the next four years will bring. The plan, as presented thus far, is not concise, or even particularly well-presented.

Will millions of well-paying jobs return to make America great again?

I suppose that it's possible, but I can't see how if every potential employer is looking for the cheapest source of labor. Wages have been stagnant for years. Will the threat of being abused on Twitter shame employers into paying workers a living wage?

Will a wall get built along the southern border to keep out the 'rapists, criminals, and some good people, I suppose?'

I don't believe there will ever be a wall.

Yet will a new immigration policy be presented that puts America first?

We shall see.

Yet, there is a dark cloud rising from the desert floor:

Will the first year of the new presidency be wrought with a criminal investigation, followed by a sexual assault trial, followed by a arrest for tax fraud?

That's possible.

It truly is.

I sincerely hope that it doesn't come to that.

Will improved relations with Russia provide a buffer in the fight with ISIS, or will the odd relationship between Trump and Putin result in something truly devastating to our country?

That's a very serious question.

Listen, things have a way of balancing out. Eight years of a liberal agenda which resulted in an all-out-attack on conservative principles...

...resulted in what happened yesterday.

The GOP now is on the clock.

Will they govern with their eyes on the future, or will the rights that seemed to be granted be stripped away, taking us into the past?

There are changes coming.

Who those changes hammer is up for debate.

I'm really hoping that my kid isn't afraid as it all plays out. Being a parent is all about providing security.

I just don't know what to tell any of my kids anymore.

"We'll see."

That's as good as I can do.

I'm not quite sure that even the most optimistic of supporters truly knows what might happen.

The rule book is out the window.

We are flying blind here.

Can it work?

Will we win so much that we tire of winning?

Will black people be screwed, or will their rights be preserved?

I don't know, kid.

I just don't, but we shall see.

Together, or unbelievably divided.

We shall see.