I think a lot of truth lies here. We should do what we can to help the marginalized. Beyond that, find joy where you can. Don’t surrender to despair.
I strongly recommend Frankl’s A Man’s Search for Meaning, which puts things in perspective for me every time I read it. There is purpose and joy where we make it.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."
Fight the good fight against these fascists wherever you have the agency to do so. Where you don’t (in most things) do NOT let these motherfuckers define the value of your life.
I don’t think this is the end of the world, unless you are in the US illegally, or are Palestinian or are Ukrainian. I don’t believe US citizens will be rounded up and put in concentration camps based on their beliefs, and I don’t think Trump can make himself a fascist dictator. (He’s becoming more senile every day.) However, things are going to change. For example, it will be many generations before the Supreme Court becomes balanced again, but I don’t see how Trump will be able to deliver on the vast majority of his promises, which may lead to a backlash in two years.
My advice would be If you live in a red state either keep a low profile, or if that’s not possible, move to a blue state. (I was considering leaving the US until things got better, but there’s no way to know when that will be, and I would be away from my family and couldn’t imagine doing that.) I may consider moving to a blue state, if I can afford it.
Assuming this was a fair election, which at this point there is no reason to believe it wasn’t, the people have spoken. Trump is the price we have to pay for living in a democracy. Remember that change is not permanent, and the pendulum will eventually swing back to something more normal. It’s only been seven years since we had a progressive black president, which I didn’t think I would ever live to see. Take a deep breath, and hope for the best.
I will try to do just that-- personally, I believe in avoiding what is called “news” from FOX and OANN (which is seemingly nothing more than angry preaching about how bad Democrats are and how they need to no longer exist [and I’m sure MSNBC is the same way on the left, in reverse]).
Okay, so based on that, what should I do? What should my family do? What will you do?
I started this thread because there are already a million others talking about potential negative consequences, and I want to know specifically if, for example, you plan to cash out investments and retirement funds to finance a revolution or move overseas or whatever.
The point is that by removing loved ones from your life simply because they have different opinions and vote for another candidate is very unreasonable.
If I were to seperate entirely from a family member because of politics, I never actually loved them at all, and that’s sad.
This.
And we’ll need to think more locally from now on.
In every dictatorship there have been people who did courageous things to improve life in the community around them.
I won’t do anything because there is nothing I can do. Leaving the U.S. isn’t an option for me for two reasons. The first is that, it is probably better to remain a citizen of a prosperous, fascist nation than to emigrate to a country that is potentially on the receiving end of our very potent weaponry. Also, as long as I’m here, I may be able to do something in the future. Sounds horrible, but it is unfortunately logical. The second is that I really have no place to go.
Isn’t this oxymoronic in today’s interconnected world? In that case, your hand would be forced, and you’d need to do something to prepare now. At least, that’s how I see it.
But this gets to the issue I have long struggled with - how can someone support this despicable person and his despicable policies, yet be a decent person?
I have the same issue with co-workers. They’re kind, giving people who work in special education, and yet they voted for him and love their students. It’s a conundrum.
They can’t, and that’s why I disagree with BorealisCooper. The fact is that you are what you vote. Anyone voting for that man is someone I mistakenly have loved. Hey, it happens all the time in this world. When we find out the truth, we eject them from our personal world and move on.
We democrats have to rid ourselves of the idea that we always to be nice and swallow shit with a smile. If the Biden campaign made one mistake, it was not focusing enough on all the negative aspects of Trump. All I heard was, “I’ll be president of ALL the people”, etc.
Take care of those you love, participate in making your community a better place, and continue to fight for fairness and justice. Just like we always have.
Keep it personal, local and immediate to where you are and your life situation. I will take care of my mental health first by processing how I’m feeling and connecting with others who share my sadness, anger and fear. I will tend to my young adult children, two of whom are LGBTQ (one is in transition). I will continue to teach my elementary students about empathy, about race, about history. Living in a blue state I feel like maybe I have some time to see what actually comes about at a governmental level and then will use my energy for what seems most impactful. I would consider moving out of the country if my blue state can no longer operate as a blue state and his wretched ideas actually come to pass. I will turn off the news for awhile. That’s the extent of what I will do at this point and I will not let them rob me of my joy and humanity.
You can consider your own circumstances and act accordingly.
You know what? I had a whole passage written out about your doom and gloom attitude, but I will refrain for my own peace of mind. Have a nice day, and I’m sure you’ll have a reply about this too.
I just had the obvious thought that I could use this as inspiration to focus more on exercise and music - things that I KNOW I have control over, and that will be to my personal benefit. If I directed a portion of the time and mental energy I spent on this election towards - say - yoga. Or simply practicing scales…
Indeed, like immigrants eating people’s pets, trans people committing a viking-like rape spree in bathrooms, and Hillary Clinton’s secret pizza pedophile ring. Our mistake was thinking these things were all ignorant, hateful bullshit, when we should’ve taken these people seriously as good-faith policy-wonks who disagreed over the details of the role of government.