As early as this spring, I wrote for this site about Trump being a clear and present danger to this community, and certainly around the country.
Today, and despite Sumter County, a majority of the The Villages and the surrounding areas voting as they did on Nov. 3, the country has decided four years of Trump was enough.
But feeling ecstatic in knowing that Joe Biden will be our next, and 46th, president – as we have seen citizens taking to the streets to express similar joy – as if a relief valve has been opened – there must concomitantly be expressed the following.
First, a hats off to those that led the charge in The Villages for Joe (who I became acquainted with as providing support and backing when he was in the senate and I was doing volunteer work for the American Bar Association on federal patient rights legislation) and Kamala. The first person that comes to mind is Ms. Chris Stanley who headed up the Villages Democratic Club. What a wonderful accomplishment she fostered and led! There were more Villagers voting for a Democratic ticket than ever before, nearly one in three, so I am told! Second, there must be a time for healing, certainly in this community. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be doing that on a national level with their decency, empathy and leadership, but it will take all citizens of whatever political stripe on all levels. Third, and somewhat antithetical to what has just been stated, COVID-19 continues to run rampant in the country (120,000+ infections in one day this past week), with it spreading, particularly spikes in those communities that allowed Trump and Pence to conduct their rallies. Yes, that “finger” points to the The Villages, and we have seen increased cases. For those Villagers that become further diseased, perhaps dying, as a result of those events, the power structure in this community can never be forgiven. Health is too important to each of us to quickly forgive such a “transgression.”
May the days ahead, however, be transformational, returning us all to friendship, collegiality and way less name-calling over what has taken place here and throughout the country – even though agreeing to disagree will still remain part of our social dialogue and the fabric of human relationships.
Miles Zaremski is a resident of the Village of Dunedin.
