A confession: I am a biased journalist. As a keen observer of human behavior and what makes people tick, I write about what I witness. It is one benefit of being a career therapist who has worked with thousands of clients/patients over a 45 year (so far) career. I am a pacifist, but am not passive. I am an activist who shows up, stands up and speaks out. I am a self confessed tree (and people) hugging, crunchy granola, left of center, peacemonger hippie. I turn the term ‘woke‘ on its head, embracing it as a compliment, instead of seeing it as the insult that some hurl. I was active volunteer for the Biden/Harris and then the Harris/Walz campaigns, so the results hit hard.
In the aftermath of the shocking election outcome, I needed to step back, go within and push the re-set button. The fire that fueled my numerous articles about the state of the world and the state of politics in these here (not so) United States, has dimmed a bit. The pilot light hasn’t completely gone out, but I don’t always have the spark that had me writing copiously in an attempt to convince people to vote in the best interest of the country. There are times when I want to curl up and huddle under the covers for the next four years, but since it isn’t possible, I intend to set solid emotional boundaries around my reaction to what may come.
I have not consistently watched the news since November 6th when, prior to the election, I drew sustenance and hope from the left of center pundits, legal minds and journalists who spoke definitively about a different result than what we are now faced with. Since the election, I don’t have the willingness to be inundated with doom and gloom messages with no clear path to find positive solutions. I have a visceral reaction to seeing the face and hearing the voice of the man who aspires to autocracy. I do occasionally listen to NPR to catch snippets. I read the work of Heather Cox Richardson and Amy Siskind for solid commentary and accurate historical perspective. I honor all journalists who dare to speak truth to power, at the risk of pushback and peril.
I also notice that I am less inclined to go head to head with commenters on social media. I choose carefully based on my willingness not only to engage, but follow through, with my responses. It takes too much time and energy to go down that rabbit hole. Sometimes I just scrunch up my face, roll my eyes and shake my head, unable to comprehend how so many people bought into the outright lies. Consider lowering the cost of groceries, which was a major talking point in the election and one he claimed would be a highlight of his presidency.
When a TIME Magazine interviewer asked U.S. President-elect Donald Trump whether he would consider his presidency a failure if the price of groceries didn’t go down, Trump said: “I don’t think so. Look, they got them up. I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard. But I think that they will.”
A ‘let them eat cake’ moment if ever there was one.
Nothing he does or says surprises me. Much that is accepted by his followers does shock me. People will do what they deem necessary to support their entrenched beliefs and practice cognitive dissonance. To admit that they were hornswoggled (a word that I have been using a lot lately) would be to acknowledge that they are ill-informed or are so self-focused that they care little about the country as a whole. I read something today about a 30 year old man who voted for DT because he was single and didn’t see women’s health care as an important issue. Something shouldn’t have to affect you directly for it to matter to you. AND, by the way, dude, as a 30 year old single man, you may someday find yourself in a situation where it will matter.
I voted, not only for my personal interest, but for the benefit of future generations. I am post-menopausal, but I have girls and women in my life, for whom reproductive care is an essential issue. I am not a PoC, but declare out loud that skin color should not be a measure of a person’s worth. I am a second-generation American born of Russian immigrant grandparents who fled to this country during the pogrom, but I stand with people who come here because of persecution regardless of documentation status. Things have to be horrific to risk safety to come to a land where they are not only, not met with open arms, but threatened with dehumanization, arrest and deportation. Yes, the immigration system needs revision, but in a humane way. I voted for a crime stopper and not a convicted criminal. What astounds me is how many ‘Back the Blue,’ law and order adherents voted for someone who flouts the law at every turn, thumbing his nose at social contracts because he doesn’t think they apply to him.
This is my commitment: to continue tapping the keyboard, speaking truth to power for as long as I can.
—
This Post is republished on Medium.
—
Photo credit: iStock
