here we go, Heroes or ghosts, one man's mood, Can break another man's soul. Or am I just, Too cynical for my own good? Am I too scared to say, We'll get there if we should? And you know, you know, It's harder than it looks, It's harder than it looks. But I, I know, It's gonna take a lot of time and a little bit of luck. It's beginning to happen, It's beginning to move, I've seen a reaction, Yeah I've watched us improve. And you could say we don't care, Or that we don't believe. But this is what we've got, And there's nowhere we'd rather be.

 So I had mentioned that there were difficult times ahead on all the fatelines regardless but that some are definitely better than others. I'm happy to say that so far, we seem to be landing in some of the best among them. I recognize there are races undeclared and I haven't yet let me go digging for how election deniers in places of potential power to determine future elections have fared.... But this fateline and the bifurcations off it remain among the ones that were not the worst. The worst were all the ones with votes that emboldened by confirmation the goals of evangelical Christian fascism -- because entrenched corruptions of the structure of governance tend to become systemic and take a long time, sometimes generations, to correct. Most of the troubles on the better fatelines are what comes AFTER the election. The reactions from the true believers and crusaders who have been drinking the Kool aid of hate justifying violence so often and so long that they are radicalized to justify their own acts of violence to "take back" what they believe to have been "stolen" from them. You have to always remember that maga/election deniers/qanon/white supremacists/misogynists/bigots genuinely believe the lies they've continuously had repeated to them and that they then continuously repeat -- and there's nothing more dangerous than a true believer on a crusade against a perceived enemy "other." Because the devout true believer who never questions or doubts will self justify and rationalize every act of cruelty and violence in the name of the cause they hold to be true.... Mob rule is absolutely terrifying, especially when it's a mob of true believers urged on to hate/violence/scapegoating by a demagogue. And I say that from thousands of lifetimes of experience. I would rather face down a massive carnivore than a mob of true believers crusading against a perceived enemy -- the carnivore just wants to eat you not torture or take out viciousness on you. The pain is secondary to their sustenance to most carnivores -- to crusading true believers the suffering they cause their enemies is the point. And deprogramming from cult mentality takes years, sometimes fucking decades, and it can't ever be done until the individual starts to question the cult and it's true beliefs.... Deprogramming 30-40% of the country is going to be a fucking nightmare...... And the fact that a solid 7-15% of the country can can admit in polls to self justify violence and cheating/theft to further their crusade?!?! Fucking terrifying..... especially with how many guns are in the hands of the unhinged true believers of the cult of hate..... 

Still. I am pleased with the results so far. I'd rather fight an ever vigilant battle against corruption and lone wolf attacks than to have to choose between burning everything to start over or letting so many suffer under the fundamentalist christo-fascist dictatorship until it topples under its own weight.... Do you measure a nation's suffering in death/destruction or in répression and lives ruined? No, I'm glad that is not (yet) a choice that we have to deal with as we near the 250 years that Machiavelli (and Jefferson quoting Machiavelli) gave for any stable form of government to fall by excesses into a toxic form of government.... 

As for me, I was quite happy to have the drive to Chicago for The Coronas concert and then the drive home tonight. One of the best things I could do for the fatelines after casting my own singular vote and getting those I knew to understand the importance of their voting was to go somewhere that I could shine brightly with joy and hope. And the thing is, The Coronas have been one of my absolute favorite bands since 2008.... I don't get to see them all that often because they're a big deal sell out stadiums band in Ireland/UK/Europe but in the US they play small club venues and sometimes hardly anyone shows. Danny said last time I saw them it keeps him humble and keeps him hungry to come play America at such small intimate shows and they're actually more terrifying in the good way than playing stadiums. (Danny is the cousin of Aoife Scott, and Róisin O who opened tonight is his sister, so it's all still within the kids of the Black Sister's family.) 

But the thing is, for me Heroes or Ghosts was one of those songs that you hear it the first time and it feels like the entire world is fucking standing still with you as you active listen to the song. I first heard Heroes or Ghosts on either a BBC or rte stream online (same as Frank Turner around the same time) and became absolutely obsessed with it. Wait. It was definitely on an rte stream because the first time I heard the song was as gaeilge and I had enough Irish language still in my head to translate it to look up the lyrics and then I found the video which then led me to the English version of lyrics and even though I'd listened to the Irish version on loop, hearing the words in English to understand them once again made me and the whole world stand still in focused active listening as of the slightest movement might shatter everything..... Anyway, so my love of The Coronas started in 2008 and I was so obsessed with that entire album but especially that one song that it was on almost constant play in my car or whenever anyone stopped by my flat downtown.... and tonight, Heroes or Ghosts as first song (of three) in the encore as acoustic was so gorgeous and heartfelt that Danny spent a lot of it off mic singing with the crowd because of how beautiful the room sounded on the chorus... He also asked (staring eye contact with an eyebrow raised), "you up for singing with me in Irish the next bit?" And I shrugged then nodded and cheered because my Irish is rusty and I'd be self conscious to sing the Irish version into a mic or where an Irish speaker could hear me -- but I know the Irish words to it and how they sound in it as well as I know the words in English. And I was like the only person in the crowd singing along in Irish for that verse and close enough he could hear me, but at the end I got an approving nod and a grin and he said into the mic while making eye contact with me, "Táim buíoch díot." Which I have to admit took me a bit of a while to remember what it meant as it'a not one of the two most common ways to say thank you in Irish and more or less means "For you I am grateful" but it made my heart happy once I recognized the phrasing around buíoch (which is the verb for being in a state of gratitude and the informal quick way to say thanks) and the surrounding grammatical structure. Anyway. That song was so gorgeous live tonight and honestly during it "there's nowhere we'd rather be" was such a genuine true heartfelt summation of the moments and the vibe in Lincoln Hall.

O. Also. Tonight they played a song off the new album called Karma that they had never played live. And I fucking loved it so fucking much!!!!!!!! The pre chorus and the chorus just made my heart so happy!  It's so good and beautiful!! "Do you cross your heart and hope to die? Never understood just what that implied.  Make your mistakes, choose to be kind. Karma's my God, I hope your parents don't mind.  I feel it brought you. That's something I should cling my hopes to. It didn't prove me wrong, I just forgot about love 'til you came along." And I loved that we got to hear that live tonight! 💖

Anyway, while I intentionally wanted to keep the glow and joy of the concert and seeing them again after three years waiting and holding onto these tickets so I didn't let me go on the internet or social media at all except to post pictures and giddiness from the show, I did check in on election results and discuss ramifications with my mum (who had MSNBC on) when I picked up my dog. And then after I left I did also check the Wisconsin and Dane county results thus far. But that was all I'd let me check in on rather than let me sink into it or actively doom scroll. I'm currently laying in bed listening to Heroes or Ghosts on repeat and letting my post concert giddy endorphins settle enough for my tired body to win the battle and send me to sleep and to dream. 

[Post title: lyrics to The Coronas song Heroes or Ghosts. The English version of it, lol.]