Now we can breathe easier

 It's over. It's been a long four years.

More like forty, I guess. It's been so painful, so chaotic, I haven't been able to put thoughts down that satisfactorily expressed my anger, confusion and distress.

I'm like many Americans in that regard. We woke each morning wondering what awful thing would happen next, what new tweet would rain destruction on someone's reputation, some cherished program adopted to help those who needed it or to protect our planet.

We weren't disappointed. The midnight rantings kept coming.

Now, I write this knowing some who read it will already be ready to trash it, label it liberal nonsense and go back to their own tribalistic way of thinking. Fine. You're entitled.

But, in light of what we've survived, I'm proud to say the liberal label is part of what defines me. All of the liberal policies and regulations and successfully adopted causes have made life better for the 98%. They've given equality to the LGBTQ community, worked to create jobs, strengthen unions, give women equality and the right to control their own health options, and a slew of good things too numerous to list.

Yep, I'm a liberal, so imagine how hard the past four years have been on folks like me. Thousands of lies and distortions (thirty plus thousand, to be exact), name-calling, insults to great Americans like John McCain and Gold Star families, roughshod treatment of constitutional laws and norms... again too much to list.

It's over. Oh yes, I'm sure the cult of this past president will surface on social media and perhaps foment more violence in our nation's capital city and the Capitol itself. He won't be gone until the trial in the Senate is over and the verdict is pronounced. He won't be gone until the only place we see his name is in the headlines from the New York State law enforcement people who have a laundry list of charges to level at him now that he's not protected by the office he tarnished.

It was a refreshing, sweet and solemn Inauguration Day. I even felt warmth for George W. and Laura, who have been good public servants. I was almost proud of Mike Pence for upholding dignity for the absent president, who only showed how small a man he is by being petty and sulking on Air Force One while a real president was taking the oath. Being a loser is hard for a man like him.

It's over. I, and others who think like me, can breathe easier. We can watch the news without cringing with embarrassment or yelling at the screen with rage. Perhaps our blood pressure will return to a healthy level. 

It's over. An honest and fair election, vetted scores of times by courts across the land, gave us a new lease on life. Whatever comes our way now has to be far better than what came before.