Wrong Side of Tomorrow

I never thought there would come a time when my country would be on the wrong side of history. Not once. Not ever. If World War II were to repeat itself, it never occurred to me that the United States would be aligned with Germany, Italy, and Japan. And yet, here we are.

At first, that realization is crushing. I felt unmoored, like something foundational had cracked. But now, on this cold end-of-winter morn, I see it clearly: the people in power may be on the wrong side, but I am not. The people around me—the vast majority of Americans—are not. That is where our hope lies. That is where our certainty lies.

A friend of mine has been marching in a small town in Maine called Damariscotta. It’s only seven miles from my house, and though I haven’t marched yet, I may join them at some point. She posted something that struck me. Trump flag-laden trucks drive by, the people inside screaming in rage. Full-throttle, vein-popping, red-faced rage. And she asked a brilliant question—why are they still so angry? They won. They got what they wanted. And yet, they’re still screaming.

We, my posse and I, are unhappy for a reason. A good reason. They, on the other hand, rage without knowing why. And, nothing seems to stem it.

Two-thirds of Americans feel like I do. If that’s true, there is no way in hell these maniacs win in the end. It might take a while, and yes, we’re going to suffer. But you cannot run a country when you don’t have the hearts and minds of its people. You cannot rule when half your energy is spent keeping two-thirds of the population—whom you openly despise—under control. You will always be fighting two battles: one to hoard all the money and power for yourself, and another to keep the rest of us at bay. That is not a winning strategy. It never has been.

I think about the children of these humans I consider my enemy. About the ones growing up inside these families, watching, listening, knowing—deep down—that something isn’t right. I think about the children of men like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Jeff Bezos, whose ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, is using the money she was part of earning to fund education, empower women, and invest in a better world. What do their children think? What does MacKenzie tell them in private?

I know this struggle personally. As a divorced mother, I always wanted my daughter to feel good about her father. I wanted to be proud of the things he did so that she could be proud, too. I was lucky. Her dad did some pretty amazing things. What happens when you can’t?

They are winning on the stuff side. They have the money, the jets, the estates. They can buy more things. I can do without things. I have agency. I have conviction. And I have history on my side. Actually all that matters is I believe I have ‘right’ on my side.

And maybe one day, it will be Bezos’s children who make him wake up. Or maybe it won’t. But either way, I know this, I would rather be me than them.

So today, I will start there. And a thank you—a real, heartfelt thank you—to the billionaires who have not lost their humanity. To MacKenzie Scott. To Alex Soros. To Melinda Gates. To Bloomberg. To Warren Buffett, who, while not always on the front lines, has realigned his children to be. There are a lot of rich people who stand with us, and are putting their money to cover where others are taking it away.

Today is a good day. Because I get to be me instead of them.