{"id":4899,"date":"2020-11-09T12:31:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T20:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=4899"},"modified":"2020-11-09T15:46:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T23:46:05","slug":"americas-u-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/uncategorized\/americas-u-turn\/","title":{"rendered":"America&#8217;s U-Turn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>It&#8217;s been exciting to witness and celebrate America&#8217;s U-Turn. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congratulations to my American friends and family.  Watching the recent election turnout, I couldn&#8217;t help but be impressed by the length Americans took to ensure their vote counted.  They stood in line for up to eleven hours. They used the mail-in ballot more often than in the past because of the Covid19 epidemic and they voted in record numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"560\" data-attachment-id=\"4907\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/uncategorized\/americas-u-turn\/attachment\/american-flag\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/American-flag.jpg?fit=1024%2C819&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1024,819\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"American-flag\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/American-flag.jpg?fit=700%2C560&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/American-flag.jpg?resize=700%2C560&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4907\" class=\"wp-image-4907\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/American-flag.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/American-flag.jpg?resize=300%2C240&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/American-flag.jpg?resize=768%2C614&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As in every election, there can only be one winner, but hopefully Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will follow through on their words and be there for all Americans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden&#8217;s acceptance speech was a welcome change. A voice of reason, calm manner, and notes of hope were long overdue.  I appreciated that Kamala Harris spoke to the fact she is the first woman to hold this high office. And she is both an Asian and Black woman.  We are also overdue in recognizing that it shouldn&#8217;t matter what your sexual orientation, religion, or race is or what culture you&#8217;re from when you&#8217;re applying for any position. So, hurrah on this score as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, there is much work to do. We are in a worldwide pandemic. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/health\/pfizer-says-early-data-indicates-covid-19-vaccine-is-effective-1.5794899\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#27596f\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Now that there&#8217;s a promising vaccine on the horizon<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, hope for a more normal life seems to be around the corner.  But we need to follow the experts&#8217; advice so that we can once again hug all those we love without fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And we need to work together, in our own countries, and globally, and not sow divisions, to ensure a world with clean air and water for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s American&#8217;s U-turn. Compared to the current president in office, Joe Biden, the president elect, has a completely opposite view of the pandemic. He follows and respects science. He also holds a 180 degree view of climate action and plans to rejoin the Paris Accord. Wonderful! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bonnie_Henry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Dr. Bonnie Henry,<\/strong><\/a> our health advisor for the Province of British Columbia says, &#8220;Be kind, be calm, be safe.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Would love to hear from you. Comments are always appreciated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s been exciting to witness and celebrate America&#8217;s U-Turn. Congratulations to my American friends and family. Watching the recent election turnout, I couldn&#8217;t help but be impressed by the length&hellip; <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,88],"tags":[378,1114,78,1115,1112,329,1113,1116],"class_list":["post-4899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-life","tag-america","tag-americans","tag-diana-stevan","tag-dr-bonnie-henry","tag-election","tag-joe-biden","tag-kamala-harris","tag-vaccine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-1h1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1111,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/life\/my-american-neighbours\/","url_meta":{"origin":4899,"position":0},"title":"My American Neighbours","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u0416\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I wrote about my American neighbours, after a visit to #NYC and the #9\/11 memorial. And at the time of another #election. What I wrote then still fits today.\u00a0 Friendly Americans With the American election fever riding high, I can\u2019t help but think of all the wonderful Americans I've met.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/P11302761-300x252.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6719,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2025\/therapy-2\/managing-stress-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":4899,"position":1},"title":"Managing Stress Today","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"24 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We've always had stress; so managing stress is part of living whether it's in our families, our workplace, or community. When faced with workplace problems, family conflict, breakups, financial pressures, unexpected illness or loss of a loved one, we need to find ways to manage stress. \u00a9Pete Linforth for Pixabay\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"managing stress","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/stress-2902537_1280-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/stress-2902537_1280-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/stress-2902537_1280-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/stress-2902537_1280-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/stress-2902537_1280-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2935,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/uncategorized\/freedom-is-what-our-veterans-fought-for\/","url_meta":{"origin":4899,"position":2},"title":"Freedom Is What Our Veterans Fought For","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"10 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Freedom is what our veterans fought for. The American election reminded us, that in a democracy, we have the right to vote and choose our own leaders. Whether we like the results or not, it's an example of democracy in action. Some didn't like who came out on top, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3499,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2018\/uncategorized\/is-honesty-a-lost-virtue\/","url_meta":{"origin":4899,"position":3},"title":"Is Honesty A Lost Virtue?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"6 \u0421\u0435\u0440\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Writers write from life. Fiction needs to be believable or else readers won't be pulled into the story. Right now, there is more truth in fiction than can be found in the White House. Is honesty a lost virtue? I've been working on my third novel but it's been hard\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Honesty a lost virtue","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/mcrae-cherry-tree.jpg?fit=550%2C426&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/mcrae-cherry-tree.jpg?fit=550%2C426&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/mcrae-cherry-tree.jpg?fit=550%2C426&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":964,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/uncategorized\/gay-or-straight-what-does-it-matter\/","url_meta":{"origin":4899,"position":4},"title":"Gay or Straight &#8211; What Does It Matter?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"14 \u0422\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been distracted from my writing lately by all\u00a0 the media brouhaha about same-sex marriage. Unless you've been in a coma, or otherwise unavailable, you've heard that Joe Biden, vice-president of the United States, came out in favor of it on a talk show last week. Then, President Barack Obama\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Two-Men-247x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1203,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/life\/when-will-america-wake-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":4899,"position":5},"title":"When Will America Wake Up?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"17 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Again,we\u2019re confronted by another senseless tragedy, this time, 20 children and\u00a0five adults killed in an elementary school in Connecticut, as well as\u00a0the shooter's mother. I hate writing about such topics ,and yet I feel\u00a0I must, if only to add my voice to others pleading\u00a0for reason.\u00a0I also feel I must write\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/KIDS.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4899\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}