I don’t usually post about politics here, but I felt I had to today. Because many people are worried, shocked, and afraid. The results of yesterday’s US election are not yet fully in, but it is clear that Donald Trump will be the next president.
We didn’t know what was going to happen in the US election. I thought Trump could win by a narrow margin. But I was hoping Harris would win by a narrow margin or (though I never dreamed of it) by a landslide. I feared that if Ms. Harris won, the election would be contested and some Republican-controlled states would try to overturn the election results.
Trump did not expect to win a landslide victory with a majority of the votes. (In 2016, Hillary Clinton had 5 million more votes than him.) I think we were lucky that the election was not contested and there were no attempts to overturn the vote.
As of now, I feel very calm. My poor partner didn’t sleep a wink.
I once again appreciate that in the US system, the winner does not seize power immediately (unlike in the UK, where the Prime Minister moves from Downing Street the day after the election). So for now, I feel normal. But it doesn’t last long.
It’s impossible to know what will happen. Trump himself is only part of the story. He is vindictive, narrow-minded, vain, and impulsive. He is easily manipulated by those around him. When he last came to power, he was surrounded by people who were, if not saints, then at least better than he was. With one exception, all of those people rejected him, stating that he was unfit for public office. Two of them described him as a fascist. He could be surrounded by people far worse than he is right now. Perhaps they will trigger his worst instincts and he will see something very bad happen.
Typically, we prepare to survive the difficult four years leading up to the next election. This time we face a potentially catastrophic destruction of the mechanisms that sustain democracy, an economic collapse, a partial recovery of the Soviet Union, and an acceleration of climate change.
There may not be completely free and fair elections for some time to come, and even if decent people are elected in the future, they may not be able to fix what they inherited. But they’ll have to do what they can with what’s left. If there is a United States in the future, there may be a rebuilt United States. A catastrophic collapse provides an opportunity to learn from the past and avoid its mistakes. The U.S. Constitution and its laws are clearly “unfit for purpose,” as they say in England. The fact that Donald Trump is heading to the White House instead of prison is just one example.
I think it’s important to remember that many of the people who voted for Trump didn’t know what they were voting for. Many people are struggling in an economy that favors the super-rich and largely ignores ordinary people. They wanted change. Right-wing channel news networks manipulate information and convey disinformation. They think inflation is at an all-time high when it isn’t. They think crime is rampant, even though it’s on the decline. They believe their way of life is under threat from immigrants, even though they too are children of immigrants and rely on immigrants for the basic jobs that keep the economy running. .
Many of these people do not know that they are voting for someone who says he wants his generals to be like Hitler’s generals and wants to use the U.S. military against civilians. There wasn’t. Or maybe they heard this and thought it was propaganda. Or they thought President Trump was just ransacking the library. But many who work for Trump don’t think this is just another Trump troll. Some of them want violent repression of all opposition.
Some people came to vote yesterday without knowing that Biden had dropped out of the race. One study showed that a mild case of COVID-19 can reduce a person’s IQ by 3 points. More severe cases with prolonged symptoms are reduced by 6 points. If hospitalization is required, the score drops by 9 points. It is due to a single infection. Repeated infections probably cause further cognitive impairment.
The population was literally made fun of. I don’t say this as an insult (I have had coronavirus and am not affected by its cognitive effects). I say this because it could be part of the process that got us here.
In short, many who voted for a man who was called a “fascist” by those who worked closely with him have no idea what they did. They are not our enemies and deserve our sympathy. (Others are enemies in the sense that they seek to harm us, but we do not have to hate them in return. It is a myth that you cannot oppose someone without hating them.)
Remember that there are many people in the United States (and of course elsewhere) who believe in kindness, generosity, tolerance, compassion, democracy, and standing up to dictators and protecting the world that supports us. I think it’s important to keep it. That’s far more than half of the population.
We are the majority.
I think it’s important to remember that fascist regimes (and it seems like they will eventually) will always fall. “Strong people” are emotionally fragile and cannot tolerate contradictions. As such, he does not listen to criticism on his part and his actions ultimately cause things to fall apart.
There is a high possibility that a series of violent movements will occur after the transition to power. These are intended to intimidate, demoralize, and traumatize those who oppose the Trump administration.
We will need to find a way to keep the faith when this happens.
We will need to maintain that belief and find ways to maintain our faith in kindness, compassion, tolerance, and democracy for much longer than four years.
The best way to do that is to actively participate in organizations that represent your values. We feel stronger when we interact with like-minded people. We feel strong when we do something that makes a difference.
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to start looking for ways to get involved.
In the meantime, I highly recommend reading “On Tyranny” by Timothy Snyder. Mr. Snyder is a history professor who studies dictatorships. On Tyranny is a small book, easy to read, and concisely written. This is a guidebook for surviving fascism and keeping positive values alive through dark times.
I strongly recommend that you do not purchase this book from Amazon, which is owned by a billionaire. People like Jeff Bezos benefit a lot (in the short term) from illiberal regimes. (The day Bezos announced that the Washington Post would not endorse either candidate, Bezos was reportedly negotiating with Trump about government use of rockets.) These people are not your friends. do not have. don’t support them.
Support your local bookstore instead. Support the public. Support your neighbors. Live your values.
If you don’t have a local bookstore or can’t get to one, try bookshop.org in the US, Hive in the UK, or find other independent bookstores in your area.
When everything is reduced to what is most convenient (“one-click purchase”), you are not living your values. The essence of ethics is to do things that are not very convenient. In the short term, it’s a little more difficult. But it feels good in the long run.
We are the majority. It is essential that we come together.
A few years ago, I taught an online course called “Politics as Spiritual Practice.” The image above comes from there. I think it’s important that we don’t just “do politics,” but view our involvement in politics as a means of cultivating patience, courage, compassion, and wisdom. The next four-plus years will test us. Those tests can make us better people. And we will need better people to rebuild what we have left.
