Booman (Martin Longman) took a look back to what happened a year ago.

Like him, I’ve been dealing with the harsh reality that yes, this country really did elect a man who is incapable of empathy, of rational thought, and who treats women, minorities, and people who disagree with him as appallingly as he does in such a casual manner.  The most dismaying thing is how it has become normalized.  For a long time I and others have asked “Are we better than this?”

Looking back a year later, it’s a struggle not to succumb to a well-earned cynicism. We don’t like to repeat our mistakes, which makes it tempting to over-correct for them.

There were a lot of times when President Obama stood up and told the American people that we’re better than this, that we can do better and be better. It’s not a good feeling to know that the response was, “No, we’re not, and no we can’t.”

But Obama was right. Maybe the answer isn’t that when they go low then we go high, as Michelle liked to say. But one giant mistake doesn’t condemn us in perpetuity.

I actually find comfort and a cause for optimism that so many people were unable to imagine a Trump victory. It means that I wasn’t alone in having some standards or in believing that we can be better than this.

It’s just going to be harder and take longer than I was willing to imagine.

But it is worth it.