The sigh of relief after the 2020 election has passed, and I’m left with a big “what now?”

The anger is still here. The fear, the nervousness, the pettiness.

The racism, the greed, the misogyny, the transphobia, the denial of science, the judgment of those we see as “different”—they’re all still here.

These aren’t things we can just vote out of office.

I’m asking myself:

Can I give up my obsession with “wrongness” and focus instead on “worthiness”? A lot of Americans voted as if they do not believe themselves or others worthy—

Worthy of a clean, healthy planet.

Worthy of food and shelter.

Worthy of affordable and accessible healthcare.

Worthy of high quality, low cost education.

Worthy of loving and being loved.

Worthy of breath.

If I’m being honest, my chest hardens when I consider this question. I really, really still want to prove them wrong. But where would that leave me? It would leave me exactly where I am: angry, anxious, hard.

And I don’t want to stay here.

I want to help shape a kinder, more generous and honest American culture. Not in a way that ignores or gaslights pain and injustice, but in a way that faces it bravely, and asks,

“How can I help?”

So I wonder: What might change, in me and in them, if, instead of trying to convince someone they are wrong, I tried to convince them they are worthy?