Yes, it has been a while.
I make no secret that I am progressive, so my reaction to another Trump term is probably what would be expected. I have my own opinions on what happened/ what Dems and Harris could have done differently/ how not good we are, but I recognize they are only my own opinion. I am not a political pundit, historian, or political scientist. Enough people with credentials, knowledge, and the time to dig deep into the data are already writing about this. While having a clear picture of what happened is important, I also don’t think the blame game and navel gazing are productive in the long term.
What I do want to write about is what can be done. I know a lot of people feel overwhelmed and helpless. I am not trying to invalidate those feelings, but I want to recognize we are not helpless. What actually got me out of my post election funk was the mundane task of paying bills. It was taking a task I knew how to do and being done with it, which gave me my mind the space to start thinking of bigger issues without being overwhelmed. This lead me to start thinking about what in my life I do have control over.
To start: take something you know how to do or what to do, know you can do, and do it, no matter how small. It may be inconsequential, but that small victory may be what you need to start tackling the big tasks. The sad thing is I made a post similar to this back in 2022. This post was originally going to be a long list of all possible action items. Instead, I decided to focus on three that really matter. Whenever you feel powerless, look to what you can do.
Subscribe to Your local Newspaper/ Support Accurate News sources
We can’t solve problems we know nothing about, or worse, know only false information about. The demise of the local paper has nationalized politics, which leaves out a whole lot of nuance. Hidden Brain did a show about how when local news is lost more corruption happens. Who is attending city council meetings and reporting on who got the big city contracts and whether they were related to or had a connection to the city council/mayor? Who is going to report on the school board decisions? It isn’t going to be the LA Times, unless you live in LA.
Good reporting takes money. It takes having the staff with the skills to do the reporting, time to research and chase the story. This all takes money. Having to actually fact check takes time and money. Making up a story with just enough truth to convince people of the lie doesn’t.
There is a difference between political slant and accuracy. News sources that hype up emotions or have click baity headlines are going to rile up base emotions while giving a slanted view of the problem. Look for reporting that offers a nuanced analysis, and if they never critique one side find a different news source. I recommend public radio, especially for your local area. Other good sources are Mother Jones (left leaning investigative reporting) , and the BBC and the Guardian (you can get an outside the US perspective).
Take Action
Liking and sharing a post about an issue you care about is not actually doing something. It is an easy action that convinces you that you are doing something when in fact it does nothing. How many people on your friends lists are going to be swayed in a vote by a meme you share? But too often it fills people with the feeling they did something, when in fact it was all of Jack Shit.
We get the world we make.
A long time ago, I think on Witchvox but can’t be certain, I read an article on environmental action and it had the advice: pick one thing to go all in on, and accept you have to let go of other issues. Pick one issue—one thing happening in your local community you want to change, one problem you want to help solve—and take action. Volunteer with an organization already working on the problem, donate, write letters, do research to understand the problem. It takes much more to build something that works than to destroy. Focus not on what you want to destroy, but what you want to build, and take action to build it. This is inspired by a show Kerri Miller did when she interviews an author who advises exactly that.
Protect Yourself
There is still time before January 20. Whatever is the worse thing a Trump administration can do to you– take whatever steps can be done to protect yourself from the worst. Invest money in hiring qualified individuals for legal matters. Take a good look at your risk level and protect physical and digital safety. Anyone of childbearing age with a uterus should look into an IUD with their doctor– for now, the ACA will cover it, and they last 8-10 years depending on the type you get.
The next four years are going to suck, and I am not interested in platitudes saying everything will be fine or think happy thoughts. What I am interested in is what can be done. Indivisible released a new guide emphasizing local action, which has some good general principals. There is going to be a lot of defensive action and battles lost. But knowing you’re going to lose some is not a reason to give up. To quote John Beckett: “Do not Comply in Advance“. I am trying to be pragmatic, but now I have hope. Not that things will be all right, but that maybe, just maybe, it is not Game Over yet.