The results of the 2024 US Presidential election sent a deep shockwave through the hearts of nearly half the electorate and, in particular, to thousands of women who felt disillusioned, betrayed, and failed by the voters.
Points of disillusionment included: (1) The painful reality that many women—often seen as the keepers of nurturing and care—could, in large numbers, grant the highest office to a felon and an abusive politician. (2) The alarming revelation that voters within the greatest democracy of the world could hand power to an insurrectionist and pathological liar—someone who has shown contempt for the rule of law and a pattern of abusing women, children, minorities, and workers—while emboldening racists who feel entitled to act at the expense of those they are meant to serve. (3) The disturbing truth that a significant portion of the electorate is so easily swayed by deceptive and manipulative media that they repeatedly vote against their own long-term interests, even as they ignore the environmental harm being inflicted in plain sight of their children and grandchildren. (4) The frightening prospect that the autocratic impulse to erode civil rights and destroy the environmental foundations of healthy life for all will be the legacy passed down to the next generation. (5) The unsettling vision of a military intended to protect the state being turned inward against the very citizens who fund and rely upon it, betraying the basic compact between people and institution. (6) The bitter recognition that some demographic groups—among them white women and young Black men—did not rise to the realization some had hoped for, contributing to the wider sense of disappointment. (7) The horror that many voters appeared willing to normalize flagrant violations of law and constitution, the subjugation of women and minorities, and the toleration of rape, torture, wrongful imprisonment, and even murder—driving the nation toward chaos and moral collapse.
But despite their temporary, mortal power of domination, the so-called elite of this changed society lack the deeper spiritual capacity to erase dreams, denigrate love, or extinguish the inner radiance of each person. This radiance of the individual stands like a mighty, luminous shield against the petty bigotry and cruelty that some groups of humans inflict on others. It is a protective bulwark that preserves the integrity, dignity, and worth of individual life. Radiance must be a kind of divine mechanism of evolutionary survival, for it is those radiant individuals—arising from every walk of life—who ultimately gather strength to rise and overcome the dark, retrograde pull of chaos. So with eyes wide open now we are watching and with acute ears we are listening. Our shield of radiance from within will resist the toxic weapons of imperialism and we will stand tall with the aim of moving us forward to a better world.