Pivoting to Hope. 'Cause Why Not?
There’s a scene in 'Big Little Lies' when Reese Witherspoon honks the horn of her car and exclaims: “I want more of that!” That’s me in this moment.
“Don't ask if I'm happy, you know that I'm not
But, at best, I can say I'm not sad
'Cause hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have.”
– Lana Del Rey
“Thank you for bringing back the joy.” Of all the lines from Tim Walz’s first speech as Kamala Harris’s running mate on the Democratic ticket — which included contenders like “Make no mistake: Violent crime was up under Donald Trump. And that’s not even counting the crimes he committed,” and “I can’t wait to debate the guy. That is, if he's willing to get off the couch and show up” — it’s that opener about joy that really stuck the landing for me. It’s a joy I let myself feel upon learning that Kamala was replacing Biden as our nominee. It’s a joy I felt watching surrogates like Pete Buttigieg come out swinging. It’s a joy I felt watching Megan Thee Stallion stumping for Kamala. It’s a joy I continue to feel watching these emojis take on new meanings: 🥥🌴🛋️. It’s a joy that I believe will change the trajectory of this election and perhaps, if I allow myself to be so idealistic, the trajectory of our futures.
It feels weird — there’s no better word — to feel this kind of hope. Eight years ago, there was hope, but it manifested as a smugness. The attacks on Republican voters as opposed to Republican lawmakers alienated a critical voting block. Can we learn from past mistakes? If the past month has shown me anything, the answer is yes. A resounding yes? Time will tell. But there’s an energy and momentum that feels powerful and perhaps more crucial: harnessed.
I’m hesitant to write on politics, a subject I’ve long felt I don’t know enough about to weigh in on in any kind of substantive way. But then I looked at a landscape where Hulk Hogan, Candace Cameron Bure, Rob Schneider and other human tapeworms were afforded a pulpit and I thought: The fuck? Then I saw a Fox News chyron with the words: “Scott Baio’s Debate Strategy Against Kamala” and felt these Nicki Minaj lyrics course through my body:
“Okay, I get it, let me think, I guess it's my turn.”
I’ve always felt envious of Republicans’ ability to unify. I remember when Nancy Pelosi dared to call Trump “morbidly obese” in a 2020 interview and the outcry from that, with some news outlets calling her a bigot, “outraged” to see such rhetoric in the political discourse. Or, just recently, when Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass was asked by his bandmate Jack Black to make a wish on stage in celebration of his 64th birthday. “Don’t miss Trump next time,” Gass said, referencing the attempted assassination on the former president. Pearl clutching ensued by many on ~both sides~ and, once again, I couldn’t help but wonder why this was any more offensive than the litany of things both Trump and the Republican party have said and done — lest we not forget the assassination attempt on Nancy Pelosi that resulted in a nearly fatal injury to her husband, Paul, or, I dunno, the January 6th insurrection. It was moments like these, and there have been many, where I wondered: Will we ever learn to fight back?
And then, like Valerie Cherish breaking the fourth wall in the Season 2 finale of The Comeback, something shifted.