The first thing I did this morning was to join up   Reverend William Barber’s Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.  I might try to start a local chapter.

The Rev. Willam Barber is seeking to build a broad and compassionate fusion movement to unite white and black and all poor people and spark a revolution in moral values.

His movement has spread across the country and is one of the most inspiring and important movements that I know of.

The political issue isn’t that we don’t have enough money.

It’s that we lack the moral courage, leadership, or commitment to face what really threatens our society. We are taking our flag back. We are taking our morality back.

In the richest society in human history, nearly half of the population lives in poverty or is struggling to make ends meet.

And our only response is to give trillion-dollar tax breaks to the very wealthy.

Poor whites and poor blacks have been duped into thinking of one another as enemies. Once they realize they are not enemies but allies, our world will change. That is Rev. Barber’s mission.

Reverend Barber’s campaign is the proper response to the heresy of Christian nationalism, and the American diseases of poverty, racism, environmental devastation, and a war economy.

The women of America will no longer stand to be patronized, harassed,  abused, or pushed aside. Trump has created his own personal Frankenstein monster, and he and his followers will have to live with it every day.

Moral revival is just the right term, and this is a group I am happy to join. I don’t care to waste my time fretting or lamenting what I can’t fix, I want to try to do what I can in a positive and peaceful way.

I will not be trading insults on Facebook and Twitter but channeling my frustration and anger into good.

We wake up to see that so many of those poor and exploited people in our country are blind, they still can’t see the way to help themselves and help others.  The billionaires are counting on that.

This is definitely a moral election. The work isn’t over. The work is just beginning.

I thought of Rev. Barber this morning when so many Americans voted for money and  bigotry and hatred and corruption. The white nationalists have more to celebrate.

I’ve always seen this election as being about moral values, and I feel that even more strongly this morning. The question has always been about people who care for people, and people who care only for themselves.

I should say that this election is not over, it will see-saw for a day or so.  Once again, I am bewildered by people who believe Donald Trump should be our president for more years. We are a democracy, and everyone is entitled to their position.

For now, I will just have to settle for bewilderment. The truth will reveal itself.

I don’t care to fight with those people now any more than I did in 2016. We all have to make our own way and answer for it. Half of the country is in a very different place than I am.

Half the country is in the same place or close to it. I am grateful for that.

I won’t fight this reality by argument and divisiveness, my life is my politics, my politics are my life. People lead, I think, by what they do, not by what they say. I don’t need labels to try to do good.

I believe strongly that the “revolution of values” Dr. King called for is underway, Trumpism has only deepened and broadened this need, This is the time.

The many millions of people who lined up to vote for a gentler and kinder America are not going away. They are becoming more powerful and organized by the day, and they are not going to go away or be bullied into silence.

I don’t understand this country right now, that’s not a reason to quit.

I hate being humbled and I also appreciate it, it always makes me a better human. No matter what, this has been my cause and remains my cause: helping the needy and the vulnerable.

No matter how the election turns out, that work will be more necessary than ever.

The refugee children at Bishop Maginn and the elderly people at the Mansion are very real and in great need. But they have also always been representations of something bigger:  helping the poor and the vulnerable.

We learn through them how to care for the vulnerable, no matter where we are.

Caring for others is a moral value. I’ll stick with them, with the help of the Army Of Good and any compassionate newcomers. This work keeps our strength and our spirits alive.

The election has reminded me that many millions of people in this country have been taught to  care mostly about money, something I have always known but continue to hope will soften and change

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,” said Jesus Christ, “and he will reward them for what they have done.”

This God has already rewarded me with the most meaningful work of my life. I wish this gift to everyone.

I woke up surprised and upset, but not defeated or discouraged. Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that compassion and equality are long and difficult battles.

One step at a time. Stay calm. Be respectful of others. Stay strong.

Please remember that this election is unlike any other, it will rock back and forth in tides and waves.  No matter what President Trump says, it is not over.

Joe Biden’s position remains strong, if not in the way many hoped. Be patient and keep hope alive.