Well, here we are after an interesting election on Tuesday, Nov. 4, where Democrats swept across the board in ways that have political analysts scrambling to understand.

New Jersey and Virginia elected Democratic governors, New York elected their first Muslim democratic socialist, and across state houses, local seats, and special elections, the blue wave rolled through with impressive consistency.

Right-wing media has been frantically trying to downplay these results as “just normal behavior” and “exactly what was expected” except it wasn’t.

States like Mississippi weren’t expected to lose their Republican supermajority, Democrats weren’t projected to flip two Republican seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission, and the best result of all? Every single Moms for Liberty-backed candidate lost.

It’s almost like the public isn’t particularly enthusiastic about people who preach “parental choice and freedom” while simultaneously trying to limit every book you read, police your sexuality, and dictate how you raise your children. Turns out Americans want to keep “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a television show, not their lived reality.

Overall, I think Nov. 4 represented an incredible rebuke of one of the most anti-American administrations we’ve seen. An administration that doesn’t seem to care about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits feeding millions of Americans, with the majority being children and seniors; a party that doesn’t seem to care whether you have access to healthcare, quality education, or a clean planet for future generations.

But they sure do care that their billion-dollar donors get their tax breaks while the middle class gets squeezed past its limits and the poor get poorer as billionaire profits soar to unprecedented heights.

The priorities couldn’t be clearer if they were written in shiny gold letters, like the Oval Office now.

To be clear, I have many friends across the political spectrum, and I certainly don’t think all Republicans think this way or want to see these outcomes. But I absolutely believe the leadership of their party does.

It really just comes down to following whichever disgusting corporate lobbyists line their pockets most generously.

However, as we approach Thanksgiving, I want to shift gears from political analysis to genuine gratitude.

No matter your political party, your preferences in government, or what your favorite side dish at the Thanksgiving table (yes, even you cranberry sauce lovers), I wish you a beautiful and Happy Thanksgiving surrounded by your loved ones, or whatever and whoever makes you happy. At the end of the day, we are all Americans, and we have so much to be grateful for.

My personal thanks to our community goes out for how we responded during the recent SNAP benefits cutoff. I watched businesses, nonprofits, organizations, and private citizens all come together to ensure local families were fed. The one thing I love most about our community is that no matter what, when there’s a need, we ALWAYS come together regardless of party, belief, or situation.

We may yell and scream at each other during board meetings and in letters to the editor. We may disagree vehemently about policy and governance, but at the end of the day, we are all each other’s neighbors.

When crisis hits, when families struggle, when our community needs us, we show up for one another. That’s the Santa Clarita I’m grateful for, not the one represented in political rhetoric, but the one that exists in everyday acts of kindness and solidarity.

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the Nov. 4 election results that suggest Americans still believe in protecting vulnerable populations and rejecting extremism. I’m thankful for our community’s compassion when government fails its people. And I’m thankful for the ongoing conversations, even the difficult ones, that remind us that our democratic republic is messy, frustrating and absolutely worth fighting for.

Happy holidays, Santa Clarita. May you have a blessed one surrounded by love, laughter and perhaps just a little less political debate than usual, at least until dessert is served!

Here’s to gratitude, community, and the hope that we can build a future worthy of the ideals we claim to cherish.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Andrew Taban is a former legislative staffer. “Democratic Voices” appears Tuesdays and rotates among several local Democrats.

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