A Donald Trump Climate of Anxiety
So, here we are, America. Sixty-odd more days until a new president, and an unprecedented one at that. Are we ready? It seems many of us are not. I’m certainly not prepared for whatever the next four years will be. And unlike most news media outlets seem content to do, I can’t normalize the election of Donald Trump as our 45th president. Its surreality won’t allow for that.
Since last Tuesday, my thoughts have gone to some dark and scary places. Where fascist regimes and internment camps reside. Sure, I’ve been ticked off when previous candidates were elected, but this is the first time I’m terrified of what’s to come, and that terror has given me PTSD. Just not the one you’re probably thinking about.
As some sort of ill-chosen coping mechanism, I’ve drowned myself in think pieces about his presumptive presidency, the role of social media in the election, and our apparently tenuous hold on democracy among (too many) others. Either I need to find explanations for something I thought was impossible, or come to grips with our new reality, but whatever it is, it’s consumed me and put my well-being at risk. The more I talk with friends about the election, read social media posts, learn about attacks on people by Trump supporters, and wonder how this could have happened in the United States, the more I wonder if I should just disengage and go to my happy place.
In search of an escape the other night, I decided to catch up with my other obsession: climate change. You know, my happy place. Upon watching an episode of “Years of Living Dangerously,” I was reminded of a climate change-related phenomenon — only to realize it’s what I (and millions of Americans, from what I can surmise) have dealt with since the election.
In the episode, psychiatrist Dr. Lise Van Susteren talks to Jack Black about the concept of “pre-traumatic stress disorder.” I first read about that idea back in July of 2015, in an Esquire article about climate scientists entitled “When the End of Human Civilization Is Your Day Job.” This PTSD is the “grief, anger, and anxiety clinging to the scientists and advocates whose job it is to gaze into a future that can look increasingly bleak.” Sound like anything you’ve experienced since November 8?
I’ve been preoccupied with and read up on climate change for years, so I’m well aware of the manifold dangers ahead of us. That’s why, upon reading the Esquire article, I remember relating immediately to the PTSD idea, of knowing something awful is on the horizon, but not knowing exactly when it’ll arrive and how bad it’ll be. The difference, of course, is that a Trump presidency is mere months away, and while we have no idea what it’ll be like, if his rhetoric, tweets, coded language, and the people he’s surrounding himself with are any indication … let’s just say I’m not rushing to book a trip to attend the inauguration.
With January 20 right around the corner, the pre-traumatic stress feels overwhelming. There’s desperation and anger strewn across social media. “President Obama should appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court now. There’s a loophole!” “Clinton can still be elected if there are enough faithless electors!” “We can’t allow Myron Ebell to lead the EPA transition. He doesn’t even believe in climate change!” Sure, I mostly live in a liberal echo chamber, but I’ve already convinced myself that all these things can and should happen, even if they aren’t terribly realistic, because the alternatives can’t be possible.
But the real anxiety comes when considering Trump’s lack of any governing experience, his … questionable temperament, and all the frightening policies he’s mentioned and whether or not he’ll institute them. This is where despair enters the picture. Undocumented immigrants deported. Muslims put on a registry. A wall built on our border. And these aren’t just ideas in isolation; I have good friends in serious discussions about leaving the country, not because they want to give up on the United States, but because they fear for their safety.
Already, people see what a Trump presidency might mean for them. Hundreds of incidents of hateful harassment have occurred since Election Day, Trump’s name associated with many of them. Shaun King’s Twitter feed is filled with stories of post-election hate against people of all ages. And reading through last week’s Day 1 in Trump’s America left me numb.
Millions of people are having discussions about their safety, the safety of their family, friends, coworkers and fellow students, and of people they don’t even know, wanting to fight back but not knowing what the repercussions might be. Thankfully, people still are doing something. Anti-Trump protests have popped up all over the U.S., and larger ones are in the works around Trump’s inauguration. And like the fight to limit climate change, each individual action can make a difference, since they add up to a collective effort that produces positive change.
The easiest way for this Trump presidency pre-traumatic stress to overtake me is if I keep thinking about what might happen, let it fester, and yet don’t do anything about it. Also, it isn’t lost on me that his anxiety-causing presidency is actually amplifying my anxiety around climate change, further compounded by his refusal to believe in man-made climate change. Have I mentioned his tweet about global warming being created by China (!?!), and his plan to exit the Paris Agreement, end the Clean Power Plan, and end climate spending?
Deep breaths. Happy place.
We are at an especially crucial time in the pursuit of limiting climate change and its negative effects, which is why the Paris Agreement entering into force earlier this month was so important. So to have President-elect Trump looking to negate the work that President Obama’s done would be catastrophic for our planet. But that just makes the work everyone has done and will continue to do that much more important. And I plan to continue my work to limit climate change, along with fighting for what’s right during a Trump presidency, PTSD be damned.
Believe me, I want this presidency to be without incident, where we can continue to be proud of the country we live in and the person we elected to lead it, where all Americans are treated with equality, kindness and respect. And where the environment isn’t exploited because of a refusal to believe in basic climate science. I want all of that desperately. But after the things I’ve read, seen and heard over the last year-and-a-half, that ship has sailed.
So now, there are people to protect, causes to support, newspapers to subscribe to, elected officials to contact, and a lot of work to be done to ensure the country moves forward and doesn’t leave anyone behind.
Are you with me?
