What Would Wilma Do ?

TITLE:         What Would Wilma Do: The November 5, 2024 U.S. Election

AUTHOR:   Jim Stokely (Wilma Dykeman’s son and channeler)

SOURCE:    "A Word from Wilma" in the Wilma Dykeman Legacy monthly newsletter, Number 146, November 2024.

COPYRIGHT granted by the Wilma Dykeman Legacy.

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If Wilma Dykeman (1920-2006) were alive today, she would respond to the November 5, 2024 U.S. election with an appeal for us to model two specific character strengths that we humans possess and sometimes demonstrate.

The first character strength is HUMILITY. The Democrats could use a large dose of critical self-reflection. They did not lose because Kamala Harris did not choose Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate. The reasons for defeat go far deeper than tactical (HINT: the perceived party of wealthy social and racial elites). Whenever Wilma recognized - or was forced to recognize - that whatever she was doing wasn't working, she pondered the situation over days or weeks or even months, then made a strong effort to do something different.

As for the Republicans, they may be running their largest risk since the Great Depression, which ushered in Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal that formed the basis of many of our current Federal programs. The GOP's risk can be summed up in one word: overreach. There is now a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, and Republicans control the Executive and Legislative branches. The Republican challenge with regard to humility is to limit their reach. Risks abound: deep recession if we embrace too much austerity; a larger Mideast conflagration due to an emboldened Israel and a desperate set of Muslim states; a roiled NATO due to an emboldened Russia and a possibly smaller Ukraine; millions of Americans perceiving the USA as a police state if they see mass deportations and political recriminations. Wilma specialized in framing policy according to people's self-interest; if she were alive today, she would advise Republicans: "If you know what's good for you in the long run, DIAL IT BACK."

The second character strength is COURAGE. When the going got tough, Wilma was usually just cranking up. Today, she would ask the following questions: Can Republicans carry our country forward in ways that honor our ideals as well as our hungers? Do Democrats have the courage to reform themselves in substantial and well-considered ways?