It can be a good thing to lose an election. It can make you feel sad, disappointed, worried. You might cry, you might mourn. Crying and mourning might release something, soften something, tenderize you. In your softened, tenderized state something might open in you, a small window. You might wonder, What happened? What’s going on? What can I do? What could I do better?

Losing an election can make you think about things you didn’t bother to think about before. And in that way, you actually win. If you lost this election, consider it a win. Consider yourself lucky, even. You’ve possibly made an important discovery you wouldn’t have made otherwise. You can possibly be part of better things to come.

As a loser of this election, here’s my message to the winners: I’m ready to listen. I haven’t listened enough. But I’m ready now. Talk to me. Tell me how you came to have your views and opinions. Let’s get to know each other. Let’s find common ground. It is only by joining forces that we will truly make things better for everyone. I hate to say this, but whether Trump or Harris had won, our democracy would be in trouble, and that’s because we are a divided people who have lost the ability to listen to each other and allow for different viewpoints and agree to disagree. Democracy does not depend on who won the election, it depends on us, the people of America. Of Northampton, Mass. The real enemy is within us, each of us. That’s the thing that’s truly holding us back. How to fight that one? How to win?

Rachel Markowitz

Northampton