Remember that We are in this Together

“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.” -Serenity Prayer

My Wife, Karin, our three-year-old grandson, Asher, and I are currently on a road trip. Last night we stayed in a hotel in Tulsa. I woke up at 3:00 AM and looked at the incoming election results. Already by that time, Trump has a lock on becoming the next president. I went back to bed and thought for a while. Eventually, I fell asleep.

Early in the morning, I texted our daughter who is staying our house while the rest of us are traveling. I told her:

“You can pull down the Kamala sign if you want.”

She replied, “Ok. I will.”

I expect that some of my neighbors will proudly display their Trump signs and flags for the next four years. Why not? They won. They might as well flaunt it.

Harris’ defeat was a disappointment, but not much of a surprise to me. I was never really that excited about her. I didn’t care much for her policies, even when I could understand them. I wasn’t enthused about her personality. I voted for her simply because she was not Trump. That’s it. That is the only reason.

In the last forty years, only two of my preferred presidential candidates actually won election, so I am used to bad post-election hangovers. The two guys who were victorious proceeded to disillusion me once they got into office. I take part in the political process, but I don’t have high expectations. These events are not a matter of life and death to me.

Am I worried about the second coming of Trump? Yes, I am. I think his plan to deport millions of people is at best impractical, and at worst inhuman. I foresee four years of unparalleled chaos. However, there isn’t much I can do about it.

While I laid awake in bed, I thought about how his election actually affects my life. On a personal level, I don’t see much change. I will probably do all the same things I planned on doing if Kamala had won. I will get a dental implant. I will take the RAV4 in for an oil change. I will continue to watch over our little grandson each and every day. In the short term, life will remain the same. The sun will rise each morning.

In the long term, who knows? Will Trump end the fighting in Ukraine or the Middle East? Will he become the authoritarian that so many people fear? There is no way for me to know what will happen, and there is very little chance that I can make a serious impact on future events. I can continue to write articles, and I can try to help struggling immigrants. I can only do small things, and those I will do.

One of the things I do that is rather anachronistic is that I love to write postcards to people when I travel. I mail a lot of them. So far on this trip, I have probably sent out seventy postcards to friends. I only mention this idiosyncratic behavior because I have a wide variety of acquaintances all over the country, and they come from diverse backgrounds. They are of different religions, ethnicities, and economic status. Often, I disagree with them about politics. However, we remain friends, and we try to stay in touch. All of them have generous hearts and care about their families and communities. They care about the United States. They are patriots in their own unique ways.

There are millions of people like them throughout out our country. These are all people of goodwill. We need to remember that.

The great challenge of the next four years will not be about securing the border, or taming inflation, or solving the crisis in Gaza. The real struggle will be for Americans to remember that we are in this together. We are not enemies. We are brothers and sisters.     

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Frank (Francis) Pauc is a graduate of West Point, Class of 1980. He completed the Military Intelligence Basic Course at Fort Huachuca and then went to Flight School at Fort Rucker. Frank was stationed with the 3rd Armor Division in West Germany at Fliegerhorst Airfield from December 1981 to January 1985. He flew Hueys and Black Hawks and was next assigned to the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, CA. He got the hell out of the Army in August 1986.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.