The monologue comes full circle and focuses its from-the-trenches perspective. And, well, I have little else to say about it. I’ve been busy finishing Act II, Scene IV and Scene V of Shakespeare’s Trump. So hey, want to help me write the ending?

On November 3, as I have done several times before, I will be helping people in my area of Manassas as a pollworker. If you haven’t voted already, don’t skip. The 2016 election was decided by surprisingly small margins in areas the losing side had mostly regarded as “sure things.”

I know some of you are probably worried about violence or COVID. Be assured those worries have informed our preparations, and that we value our community and its safety. And if that’s not enough, be mindful that a better world requires occasional acts of courage.

Cynicism has been a favorite tool of politicians I despise for far too long now, so with all due respect, it’s not something I care to see in the comments today. I realize some of this may sound ironic from the co-author of a comic that ultimately resolves with a very un-peaceful transfer of power, but for all Gastonia spoke to Phil’s and my anxieties about American life, there’s one thing it didn’t have that America does: elected leaders. Make that difference mean something.