I think a lot about how this will all be reflected in history books.

The improbable remaking of Donald Trump into a political figure.

The two presidential terms, separated briefly by a liberal-learning career politician and ally of President Barack Obama, whose demeanor, dignity and delivery still drive Trump to distraction. (And whose birth certificate launched Trump’s political career.)

The equally improbable remaking of America in Trump’s likeness, from the goldening of the Oval Office to the renaming of landmarks to the unilateral, cruelty-stained policy decisions.

And, finally, the dramatic and unequivocal rebuke of it all.

In part, I wonder how it will all be reflected because reflection is so anathema to Trump’s core. From demanding the removal of certain historical displays, to ordering signs at the Smithsonian warning of “inaccurate information” to removing references to Black veterans and Navajo Code Talkers in Pentagon materials, Trump has leveraged his role in America’s story to diligently rewrite the past, not reflect and improve on it.

I also wonder how it will all be reflected because the present-day chroniclers have shifted so dramatically in the last decade. There’s lots to bemoan about the media landscape right now. But there’s also a democratization of information-gathering and information-disseminating, thanks to social media, Substack, podcasts and other content freed from traditional gatekeepers. Which means a fuller, truer set of perspectives, voices and experiences are contributing to the first draft of history.

(There’s a wonderful African proverb you may have heard: “Only when lions write their own history will the tale of the hunt cease to glorify the hunter.”)

I wonder what lessons will be drawn, which figures will be vilified, what quiet heroes will stand out, which policies and moments and images will seem utterly inconceivable to future generations, and which will prove, in hindsight, to have been transformative.

I wonder, especially, about the blue wave.

Maybe it’s recency bias, but these days following the midterms feel weighted with history — the kind that was made through a bevy of firsts (first Black woman governor, first Black Republican governor, first Native American woman governor, first Muslim senator, first openly gay male senator), absolutely.

But also the kind of history you sense is going to be studied and cited for decades, maybe centuries.

I hope it includes the joy.

The first-person narratives, the on-the-ground reports, the exhaustive analyses, all the in-the-moment witnessing that holds up over time and turns into, eventually, what we call history — I hope it captures the joy.

To be clear, I hope it reveals that the nation went on, post-midterms, to abolish ICE and go back to funding scientific research and establish universal healthcare and reclaim our public lands from energy mining and end the war in Iran and curb inflation. All of that and more.

But also the joy.

I hope it reveals that when U.S. Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed’s opponents accused him of promoting Sharia law, he playfully hit back with his support for shawarma law. (“If you get a shawarma and it’s got lettuce in it,” he explained, “it’s not shawarma, it’s just a sandwich.”) And Shakira law. (“Shakira law has one commandment,” he announced. “That the hips don’t lie.”) And Shamwow law. (His social media team joked he was bringing the patented multi-purpose, super-absorbent cleaning cloth to clean up the Senate.)

I hope history shows that thousands upon thousands of Americans danced in the streets of Texas after Elon Musk’s millions failed to secure their election results.

I hope it includes this victory speech gem from Gina Hinojosa, Texas' first Latina governor: “I can’t help but think of my grandmother who used to tell me, ‘No te dejes.’ ‘Know your worth, and fight for it.’”

I hope it includes the satirical Tiger Beat cover and the satirical Vogue cover and other touchstones of the “Hot Caucus” trend celebrating the young, newly elected Dems. I hope it mentions the “Senate Hunks” lookalike contest at Chicago’s Stardust bar.

I hope it can capture the relief, the lightness, the levity that arrived for so many of us when we watched our nation reject candidates who spout fear and bigotry, rebuke policies that tear apart families, reclaim faith as a bipartisan value, renew the belief that a better, brighter future seems possible — likely, even — if we elect leaders whose promises and platforms line up with a majority of Americans’ priorities. And whose moral compasses (so far, anyway) appear to be in full, working order.

The truth will be in the governing, of course. Platitudes and promises are pointless if they’re not backed up with policy. History will reveal what kind of America the blue wave ushered in. Safer? Healthier? More affordable? More innovative? More secure? More equitable? Ideally.

But the joy didn't wait for January. The joy arrived immediately, riding shotgun next to hope, and they show little sign of letting up. I hope that makes history too.

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