"A Salvage Operation"

What will any of us leave behind?

Here I’m sharing an essay of mine, “A Salvage Operation,” that was published yesterday in the literary journal MicroLit Almanac. I’m grateful to editor Cat Parnell for getting it out into the world. It offers a tiny glimpse into my younger world and also ponders the idea of legacy, which I think is fitting for this newsletter.

What will any of us leave behind? There’s all the physical stuff, but also: What will be our moral legacy?   

What will that look like in the next generations of our own families (if you’ve had children)? What will it look like on the earth itself? What will it look like in the little corner of the world you inhabit or across this vast country of ours?

It’s been a week. I am extremely disappointed in how the election turned out, and I fear what is to come from a convicted felon and authoritarian, along with his sidekicks, fat with all manner of unchecked greed and cruelty.

I have a sense of these things in my core, from a childhood of being raised by a man who (mostly) appeared “normal” and “fun” and “a good guy” to the outside world, but who was cruel, authoritarian, narcissistic, misogynistic, and very good at a kind of mind-control in our home. Put dudes like that in charge of everything? No, thank you. I already know what that looks/feels like and I wouldn’t wish or vote for that for anyone.

These last few days have been spent doing a lot of thinking about what comes next — not imagining the collective horrors that are about to rain down on us, but about what I, just one non-billionnaire person, can do. I know part of moving forward means to double-down on checking in with and finding new ways to support the people, communities, institutions, and social justice organizations that will bear the brunt of the new regime’s stated intentions.

One thing is for sure: I will not be passive. I will not be silent. Thanks for reading.