Between delicious bites of reheated globby morsels coated in white rice (sesame chicken is always better the next day, isn’t it?), I stumbled on a page that talked about “Return Day” in nearby Georgetown, Delaware—the county seat for Sussex County, where my parents live and where I too will be officially be calling home in just a matter of days.
Return Day is a formal celebration attended by incumbent, incoming, and staying-on elected officials from the State of Delaware where the recent election results are formally read, there’s a parade, the public celebrates unity with red, blue, and purple people all breaking bread together, and a literal hatchet is symbolically buried in sand from nearby Lewes Beach. Pictured in the Cape Gazette, front and center, were the chairs of Delaware’s Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican parties all standing side by side together; the governor and governor-elect were there, as well as lots of other people. Some where even dressed in Punxutawney-esque top hats and tails.
What a thing! In a country where we hear all the time how divided we are, fueled by media that loves the drama of division, here in my new home state people were celebrating unity, literally coming together to bury the hatchet after the election and find ways to move on together as one people full of diverse opinions, practices, priorities, and principles. My heart was so warmed by the article, just as my belly was being so warmed by the reheated-a-minute-too-long sesame chicken.
I know differences in politics, especially this year, are stark. I’ve seen so many posts about how “agreeing to disagree” is fine in principle, but not when it comes to misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and so much more. And I agree that those harmful ideologies, as I’ve written about before, transcend politics and religion and all other things and should be called out and removed. But, as I’ve also written about, we’re not going to get anywhere by warring amongst ourselves. The best thing I can do (as in a topic like this I suppose the best thing I can do is just speak for myself) is to set an example of being inclusive and loving and also speak up for what I know is right and hope others do too, but not spit hate and name-call and sling insults at and cut out of my life others who have yet to learn the valuable lesson of the immense power in good-neighborliness.
Delaware is officially a blue state, but really is much more purple than blue. I saw a video not too long ago about how if our country’s electoral map was variegated shades of purple instead of divisive state-by-state blue and red distinctions, then we’d all feel much more connected and part of each other’s stories instead of at odds with each other. I agree with that and think that simple change would do wonders for our national conversation. But hope and love don’t sell clicks nearly as much as division does, I’m afraid.
In Delaware, I’m thrilled to see that we elected the very first out trans person to ever hold a seat in congress, setting an example for our country and hopefully building bridges as other members of congress get to meet her and learn that she’s a beautiful part of creation just like they are. We’ve also just elected only the fourth ever in history Black woman to the senate—a statistic that shocked me when I heard it and I’m so proud to be in a state that values representation and has done a little bit to rectify a horribly unbalanced system. This incoming senate roster will be the first time in American history that two Black women will have served at the same time. How this is a fact in such a diverse country of ours is really a statement to how much work we have yet to do, but as an optimist with a core value to share positivity and not negativity, I want to focus on the positive and how this little step that Delaware has made is making a big difference. Onward!
What in our lives, especially after such a hard-to-watch election this past year, can use a good dose of hatchet burying? I can think of a lot of things in my circles—things which people are so angry, so hateful, so stubborn, and so blatantly disrespectful about. It's my opinion that we all need to be kinder and realize more clearly that loving our neighbor and giving them the freedom to love, worship, believe, and trust as they want is more important than trying to correct, control, or condescend to them. So, maybe with your help, as if you’re reading my column you hopefully are open to sharing a little bit of positivity and upward-motion as I also am, we can all do our best to continue to reach out to our neighbors, be there to show them we’re not horrible people but instead just fellow humans trying to figure everything out, and that we’d love to stand side by side and embrace our differences…and bury the hatchet, together.
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