We're coming out of one of the darkest times in American history, certainly the darkest time in the memory of most living Americans.

Fear and hate have been the dominant national emotions during the last two Republican presidencies. They were used to lie us into a war in Iraq, and to tear us apart from each other for the last four years.

Joe Biden becoming president means that we can focus on making life better for American citizens, rather than trying to demonize each other.

A Biden presidency means we can begin rebuilding our country and infrastructure, rather than continuing to let it deteriorate and fall apart.

A Biden presidency means we can begin to heal our environment rather than keep lobbyists for the oil and coal industry in charge.

With Trump gone, the grifters and opportunists in his cabinet will be gone, too.

The Education Department can once again focus on building a strong public school system.

The Environmental Protection Agency can go back to protecting our environment.

The State Department can work on rebuilding our international alliances and stop coddling dictators and autocrats.

The Internal Revenue Service can aggressively audit rich people again, and the Federal Election Commission can hold fatcat cheaters to account again.

As Trump goes on his "Death and Destruction Goodbye Tour," we can go back to thinking about friends, family, country and the future, rather than obsessively checking the news every 10 minutes to see what new fresh hell Trump has unleashed.

It will take some time for America to recover from four years of continuous assault by a psychotic president. Most Americans are experiencing some form of political PTSD. But we will heal from this and a brighter future is coming.

-Thom