Dear Depressed Voters,
On election night my increasing dread morphed into actual nausea when the news anchor called Donald Trump our president-elect. A woman told me the election result elicited the exact same emotions she felt when her cat died. Roughly half the country is experiencing a massive collective grief reaction. This is my attempt to get beyond denial, anger, depression and acceptance (sorry, I didn't see the point in bargaining) and progress to healing and action.
We progressives have been spoiled and lulled into complacency by recent history. We think that social, political, and economic progress are inevitable and all we have to do is sit back and watch. We forget how cyclical history is. The Roman Republic was followed by the Empire and then the dark ages before the Renaissance happened. The United States lived through presidents Coolidge and Hoover before FDR came along. In our lifetimes, we experienced eight years of George W. Bush before Barak Obama (note to self: check history books in 50 to 75 years to confirm my admiration for Mr. Obama). Reactionary people and forces can do a lot of damage, but they do lose out in the end.
Reactionary forces and people refuse to accept what seems like progress at the time. For how many decades did tobacco companies and the politicians they owned insist that tobacco does not cause cancer and heart disease? Scared and resentful people long to turn back the clock to a romantic, nostalgic version of history. "Make America great again"? Going backwards isn't change, and it sure as hell isn't great. Donald Trump (and to some extent Bernie Sanders) tapped into the fears of a scared plurality of people who felt threatened, maybe for the first time. They desperately want someone to tell them who to blame and then make it all better.
Over time the truth becomes unavoidably evident. President-elect Trump can deny climate change and surround himself by people who do, but the atmosphere will make them look like fools and liars in the long run.
It's too late to put the genie back into the bottle. No serious person in 2016 can deny the right of women and African Americans to vote (although I am sure there are some who secretly want to). Same sex marriage cannot be undone (although some will continue to try). Of course slavery had to end, but tell that to the Supreme Court justices who decided the Dred Scott case in 1857.
Progress almost never comes from the top down. Progress begins locally. Same sex marriage came to the United States through years of advocacy and gay pride marches, and finally the brave justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Jim Crow laws ended because of marches and protests, not because Congress led the fight. Yet, the Equal Rights Amendment just missed and has been shelved by history for 50 years.
Solace and healing: Just because Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton does not mean that all hope is lost. Ted Nugent is not a better musician than James Taylor or Bruce Springsteen. Certain things are just true, no matter who wins the electoral college. We've been kicked in the (your choice) and fallen over. Maybe not today or this week but soon, we need to dust ourselves off and stand up for the causes and facts we believe and know to be true.
I have always felt that the best way to feel better when you are depressed is to help improve life for others. Start locally, at the grass roots. That is where real change begins. Join and support organizations that advocate for things we know to be important. Go to rallies and marches. Use your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Live responsibly. Sign petitions. Write your local and national legislators, governors, and even the White House. We can't bring dead cats back to life (or call back any nuclear missiles launched by President Trump) but we can start the recovery process and be on the right side of history.
Sincerely,
Dan
