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We shared Election Night 2016 with Andy and a few other close friends. For this particular group, and for many around the country, the next morning was painful to see anything positive about the future. But everyone who was in attendance that night from our group received this email the next day. Just one of the endless gestures that Andy had the ability to make in an ongoing effort to spread love and positivity and build community:
Donald Trump has done me a favor. By modeling such atrocious behavior, employing such vitriolic rhetoric, he (and his more unctuous supporters) has taught me to walk in the world in a manner diametrically opposed to his/theirs. I have expunged (I hope) from my soul the rampant arrogance, the unrepentant denigration of critics and opponents, the manipulative agitation of fear and anger, the resorting to overly simple narratives and equally simplistic (and ignorant) solutions.
Let’s resolve to:
Make beauty
Explore complexity
Celebrate vulnerability
Endure criticism unreactively
Respect our opponents
Cultivate humility
Speak or truth
Seek knowledge (and honor the knowledgable)
Stay focused
Shut down bad behavior
I’m so grateful for your friendship and likeminded (kindred-spirit) support. Thank you for loving me. (And lovingly criticizing when appropriate!)
We’re gonna make it through this. We’re going to act locally. We’re going to do our work. We’re going to strive for excellence. And we’re going to build up the spirits of our community and tear down walls!
😘,
AMN
Sent from my iPhone
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