Washington crossed the Delaware in 1776. Years of battles followed. The iconic image came almost 100 years later, painted in retrospect. As you reflect on 2026’s midterms, will this moment be painted in such an iconic way and remembered?
Every change in society has multiple phases: the lead-up, the pivot, the fight, and then the writing. As a country, we cannot see the overwhelming Democratic victories as a chance to write our Victory lap. We have no idea where yesterday’s historic elections place us in the cycle of change.
The people standing in 1517 in Wittenberg, Germany, might have been there as Martin Luther spoke about the corruption he saw in the church; they might even have agreed with him. They might have spurred him on; he was not the only one unhappy with the Catholic Church's overspending. We look back at that moment as pivotal. Historians can point to many social changes that exacerbated unhappiness with the Catholic Church, including urbanization, increased secularization among the humanist class, and the ways the banking industry worsened wealth inequality. Historians can also draw a line from that moment to this one, noting how Protestantism has shifted from a protest against the Catholic Church's wealth to a faith that uses tax structures to create a few very wealthy Pastors in the United States. While I could discuss the relationship between religion and Power for hours, my point is to remind all of us living in the Contemporary moment to never assume what comes next. History is often the pivot, but in U.S. history, it is the lead-up.
History is not great screenwriting; it is messy and confusing. Only the most knowledgeable remember some things. Even more so, causation is regularly contested. The greatest lesson in history is that nothing repeats exactly. History is not our step-by-step directions. Instead, it reminds us that people like us made change; we can too.
Many of our internet talking points are meant to grab quick attention but also end up discouraging deeper thought. For the last two years, the internet has said no one has voted out a fascist leader. Once Hungary voted out Orbán, the internet said, " Well, the new guy isn’t perfect. This cycle of making unnuanced pronouncements and then reverting to Purity politics is rooted in an inability to accept nuance but also a lack of understanding of the many forces required for change.
As you look at the returns, again, Black women voted most compassionately, focusing on harm reduction and changemakers. They didn’t hold out for the perfect candidate. They voted in the candidate they could perfect. White men voted most often to prevent change. Young people voted largely Democratic and came out in huge numbers.
The numbers show that the slice of America online is skewed. The squeaky wheels get online to pronounce what they think will get them views. They will spend their time tearing down potential allies rather than getting offline and building those bonds. What Brazil taught us is that people who believe in each other gain strength by supporting one another, but also by silencing Bad actors by starving them of attention.
So where are we actually in this movie that is US history? We’ve arrived at this movie in the middle, without reading the synopsis. Do not assume we’re near the end. We’re very likely near the beginning of this movie. We told the Heritage Foundation and Elon Musk to shove it. Our elected officials are younger and more diverse. But if you’ve watched any heroic trilogy, showing the bad guys once is never enough. Don't look at those smiling faces on the podiums as the end of a feel-good movie; instead, think of it as the first happy moment in a somewhat boring, incredibly circuitous, and often infuriating sweeping epic. Our road will not be smooth.
Generations from now, historians will polish it. Someone who will never know us will decide what was THE moment and select THE image. Our role is not to write history; ours is to live so that the written history is worth reading. Unlike our predecessors, we have an enormous body of knowledge at our fingertips and more images than we can ever consume. We can imagine what history might say. Planning what historians will say is as accursed as simplifying history to internet soundbites. Both pull you away from doing, living, and changing. Focus not on the ways we could be, and instead demand the ways we can be. Celebrate this win. Optimism and positivity are much harder than pessimism. Enjoy the good and use that to push to the next win. Put advocacy into your daily life because these elected officials, like all new hires, need direction. We are their bosses. Make it your job to sit on them to make them make the change you want. The history they will write is the future’s business; the country we build today is ours today.
