The sun rises near the Capitol Building on Election Day 2016 in Washington. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images) As I write this very early on the morning of Nov. 9, it seems that Donald Trump is about to be elected president of the United States. If you read this newsletter or Act Four on anything like a regular basis, you know this is not the outcome I hoped for or expected. I, and many other Americans, are in for a long, searching period of attempting to understand how the tools we use to measure the world around us captured our fellow voters so poorly, and why the tools that have conventionally won elections failed. Some of the answers appear to be immediate, and I don’t know that much contemplation, or making up for lost sleep, will change those conclusions. But in the mean time, I hope you are all safe, and that if you are in crisis, that you are getting the support that you need. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is up and running here, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached here. A national directory of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings is here, and you can search for Narcotics Anonymous meetings here. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Help Center’s hotlines can be found here. And if talking to me would be of any help, you can always reach me at [email protected] or in next Monday’s live chat. |
