Aaron Sorkin likely wasn’t the only parent who woke up on November 9th, the morning after the presidential election, looking for the right words to say to his family — to his daughter — that could explain the previous night’s results. But not only did Sorkin find the words, he put them to paper in a moving, open letter directed to his daughter and wife.
In a letter published on Vanity Fair’s website on Wednesday, the Oscar-winning screenwriter and creator of The West Wing shares his surprise and dismay at the election results. Yet in the face of such a loss, he encourages his 15-year-old daughter Roxy and her mother Julia Sorkin to remain steadfast in their convictions. Donald Trump may have won, he writes, but going forward, “we remember that we’re not alone.” He writes that while Trump supporters might want to see progressives “sobbing and wailing and talking about moving to Canada,” he won’t give them that (and neither should his daughter, Roxy). Instead, he continues, “We’ll fucking fight. … We’re not powerless and we’re not voiceless.” Because, as he adds, “here’s the thing about Americans: Our darkest days have always—always—been followed by our finest hours.”
Read the full letter at Vanity Fair.
