Gratitude Monday: Calm before

It’s appropriate this year that Election Day is at the earlier end of the cycle (first Tuesday after the first Monday in November—the earliest an election could be held would be on 2 November), because we’re still in that liminal time when the living take notice of the dead (and possibly vice versa).

We just celebrated Halloween on Saturday, which is rooted in the Celtic holiday of Samhain—marking the bringing in of the harvest to sustain people through the shorter days and colder temperatures of winter. Samhain also honors those who have preceded us into death, keeping their memory alive through the generations.

Yesterday and today, Christians marked All Saints Day and All Souls Day, essentially carrying on the Celtic tradition. The wall between this world and the next is more frangible around now, and it’s a time for lighting protective and cleansing bonfires.

Our Latino neighbors (within this country and up and down the Americas) are also celebrating El Día de Muertos, honoring those who’ve passed and taking account of the living.

So it’s a truly appropriate time for considering how we want the next two years to go in our country, and voting accordingly. It is not hyperbolic to say this is a life-or-death decision; a choice between good and evil, light and darkness. Everything is riding on the outcome of tomorrow’s elections. No vote is inconsequential.

Today I’m grateful for the millions of Americans who have already cast their ballots, by mail, drop-off box or in-person. Also for the poll workers who show up throughout the voting season to make the whole thing work. And for those who manage the process of counting the votes and certifying their accuracy. (A decade ago I wouldn’t even have thought about them, but after the experience of 2020, I recognize them as true heroes of democracy.)

I’m also grateful for the (Republican-run) state of Alaska, whose lawyers just told the Kleptocrat’s DOJ to get stuffed with its lawsuit demanding that the vote not be certified unless the incumbent senator wins. (As of writing, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in favor of the DOJ getting stuffed, and it's currently before the Nineth Circuit on appeal.)

There is a real threat that the Kleptocrat will try to invalidate or ignore any results that do not please him; we are truly in a dangerous time. So the ordinary people who do their civic duty are more important than ever.

I am holding my breath.

©2026 Bas Bleu