What are your thoughts and feelings after the midterm election?
My feelings are that it’ll be nice to see some change after the first of the year. But I’m a little nervous for these next two months—it’s so hard to predict anything.
M.A., 59, post-production
I’m happy that there’ll be checks and balances back in federal government. I’m delighted that the electorate as a whole is seeing that maybe some things aren’t okay. And I am hopeful that a normalcy of dialogue and working together can happen moving forward.
J.C., 61, teacher
I feel like I can breathe and my chest is not constricted with anxiety. I feel really positive. I realized that every time I opened my news feed my whole body reacted. Not having that every day is something I’m really looking forward to. I hope they can restore humanity and compassion to our government and clear out the corruption.
R.S., 71, co-director, M.K. Contemporary Art
I feel restored. I feel I have more faith in the American people. I think many people had to rise above the humiliation of voting for these people for two elections. They’ve changed their minds—and that’s encouraging.
C.W., retired teacher
Everyone has looked at themselves and decided to make a change. The pendulum has swung back, as it should have, and I feel great about it. Hopefully we can recover. The recovery—the reckoning— is on the way. Reckoning is looking back and asking, ‘What did I do wrong, and how would I have changed it?’
G.J., 65, “get ‘er done” contractor
I just hope the opportunity for reconciliation, for moving forward, isn’t squandered from any corner. The opportunity to knit together the things that hold us together and not undermine who we would like to be as a society.
R.M., 64, hoping to retire soon
