California er den staten som sender flest valgmenn, 55 i tallet. Den folkerike staten har fått et stort antall latin-amerikanske velgere og disse har vært med på å tippe skålen i demokratisk retning. 2020-valget viser en klar ledelse for Biden i denne staten.

Samantha Moorer er en skoleinspektør i California. Hun skrev en luftpost til oss og skrev om hvordan rasisme har påvirket hennes liv i etterdønningene av de store Black Lives matter-demonstrasjonene som foregikk i USA tidligere i høst.

Jeg synger også, Amerika … fortsatt

Her er Samanthas svar på våre spørsmål:

1. Can you sum up the result in the presidential election in your state?
   For days, I endured sleepless nights tossing and turning with my weary, hope-seeking eyes often popping open. They searched with anticipation for a much needed break from this fever 4 years long. It intensified on November 3rd and lingered relentlessly in the following days. My belly ached in constipation by what we had been force fed for 1,387 days without reprieve: an endless buffet of empty, caloric promises and liquid fear like salt water leaving me dehydrated and thirsty for hope and justice.
   
   I knew what the polls said leading up to this presidential election, but what would the majority of America say? Red or blue were the political choices and these same colors would represent the emotions of all at the conclusion of the matter:

1. 1. Red for those angry at the loss, while on the other hand, the same color representing a renewed, deep hearted pride that America chose well.
   2. Blue would symbolize a gratuitous disappointment for some and clearer skies ahead for others. Without question, I knew that California would go in favor of Joe Biden. Therefore, it did not surprise me when the 55 electoral college votes were added to Mr. Biden’s total. However, I worried about the rest of the country. I reflected on a meme I had seen days prior that compared voting to a group project: “I did my part. I am waiting to see if you did yours.”

2. Did the result suprise you? (Please specify why, why not)
   What did surprise me was the record number of popular and electoral college votes achieved for his opponent. Two words: “How?” “Why?”
   
   I had always known that America had different faces. These faces represented both the diverse beauty of its cultures as well as the frequent, contradictory actions often revealing whom our Constitution truly protected. Even still, I believed we were individual faces on a singular body who all believed in the American Dream, opportunity, and generational advancement. The election of 2020 caused me to realize that there are two Americas. They are as conjoined twins facing opposite directions with individual limbs but one spine. They both have their own unique perspectives of reality, but share in their commitment to keeping the backbone of America straight and strong while believing that it is their value system that keeps America upright.
   
   Which head would wear the crown? No doubt it would be heavier than most.

3. What are your feelings after the election?
   It was 8:29am. I was watching the tv show “Hoarders” trying to distract myself from the angst that hung over the world’s head like a cloud threatening either a light shower or a hurricane. Later I came to realize that watching “Hoarders” was symbolic of America’s hoarding dilemma. Its four years of hoarding verbal and tweeted congestion, musty misinformation, stacks of fear, and the stench of centuries old racial inequality had incurred so many code violations against humanity to sound an alarm of a bill past due. All this in an outwardly beautiful home on a strong constitutional foundation. The secret was now out and it required a much needed deep cleaning. A minute later, I received a text that simply said,“Biden Won!” As an African American woman, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. After screaming for joy, running around, calling loved ones, I watched the blue celebrations on television for President Elect Joe Biden and the first female and African American/Indian Vice President Elect, Kamala Harris.
   
   I was determined not to allow naysayers to steal my joy almost four years in the making. They still haven’t.

4. What are your thoughts on where the US is heading in the next four years?
   In days following the 7th, my hope has returned and my joy has calmed, but the reality is that 71 million of my brothers and sisters did not celebrate on that day and in the days after. Red with anger and or blue with disappointment is their mood.
   I sincerely hope it does not turn into concrete in which they are stuck. I do not gloat in this for we remain as these conjoined twins sharing one spine. Both are necessary for which to stand. There is much healing to do in America and I am concerned for her future. Our connected nation must learn to move in unison in order for the country to have synchronicity and master the art of a truly, democratic waltz. If not, separation will kill us both.
   
   While the fever has subsided a little for me and many, for others the uptick has just begun. I was the one afraid for the past 4 years, and so they may be in the next. The red and blue twins merely switched directions with the opposite side now facing a perceived, bright sunrise and the other, a foreboding sunset. But perception is everything and only time will tell if we as a country and as twin souls will release ourselves from our staunch and stubborn mindsets and agree to experience both the dawn and dusk harmoniously in a constant 360 degree rotation.