Defying powerlessness

The past couple of weeks were difficult to endure for some of us. It was very tempting to disengage from reality — all that anger, sadness, pointing-of-fingers, apathy and curl up in my own safe comfortable space, at least for now.

Only for now. Even without Trump we have an impending climate crisis, debt crisis and a host of many inter-related issues such as rising inequality, or that it is 2016 and there are still many parts of the world without access to clean water, or nobody has any idea what to do with refugees. Before the elections I thought we had more time, despite my own cynicism there was a fleeting chance we could all pull our socks together in time.

For me, Trump’s win has thrown everything into disarray. Apart from existing issues, we now have to deal with talk on concentration camps, at a point of humanity where we’re supposed to be talking about exponential technologies, eradicating poverty and going into space.

How did we end up here? How can we let ourselves end up here? It is 2016 and we still think oppressing people is the best way we can survive?

I am going to attempt to throw my own self-psycho-babble at this. That life and change is not linear (Obama agrees), that we cannot effectively predict the future simply based on current variables and a linear trajectory.

But what we do now shapes the future.

With my understanding of the human psyche I am not even going to attempt to change people’s minds, but the very least I can do is to do the right thing for myself as a human being I wish to be, and to support other people’s efforts in their belief that everything they do matters and will continue to matter.

I love lists, so as my small act of defiance I am going to make one — here are some ideas some of us may want to do to defy powerlessness:

Support the actions of other people

My friend Jessica has created a list of small actions Americans can do to make a difference, another has crowd-sourced a list of Post-Trump resources and someone made a weekly political actions spreadsheet. As a non-American I can’t do many of these things, but I could connect them to relevant parties.

Be a supportive peer

Since the results I have found solace in having conversations with some of my peers who are feeling the same pain. We have no answers but there is strength in knowing someone else is enduring the same questions.

Read

I have crowdsourced a reading list (please feel free to contribute) for both myself and other people to understand why we are where we are. I personally believe we cannot attempt to really solve a problem without even understanding the problem or the reality of who people are.

Learn

Take a course on Coursera or Khan Academy on economics, history, critical thinking — anything that expands our knowledge and develops our muscles on storytelling, debate, thinking and designing solutions. This is a time where we need all the tools to be creative.

Ideate

And throw your idea out there. Someone may respond, and perhaps the idea may get stronger.

Create

Write, make art, cook. Even if it is just for ourselves. We have to nourish ourselves for the longer times ahead. I appreciated this comic on “The Other Side” by Nicky Case, a clickable story on power by Hardbound, my friend Jason’s comic on compassion and change.

People have been building apps to facilitate action:

Create non-political art too, people have found healing in music and poetry, you may provide that space for someone else unknowingly if not for yourself. Yesterday I uploaded this picture I took. For a split moment it seemed frivolous in a time like this, but it is a simple reminder to myself that this is why it matters. Because there is beauty, kindness and the inarticulable spirit of the human being, and thus the sanctity of the world is worth protecting.

Voice

If we don’t express where we stand, we are contributing to an imbalance of power in discourse, and in this case I didn’t want to contribute to the acceptance of this new normal by remaining in comfortable silence. This is not okay.

Self-care

Related to above, we have to take care of ourselves for the longer haul ahead. If things really start falling apart we are of no use if we are weak and sickly. I am planning to double my effort in my self-healing journey, because my contributions will always be limited by my capacity to be resilient. I don’t wish to be sabotaged by my pain and anger.

Document

“Write down what you value; what standards you hold for yourself and for others. Write about your dreams for the future and your hopes for your children. Write about the struggle of your ancestors and how the hardship they overcame shaped the person you are today…Authoritarianism is not merely a matter of state control, it is something that eats away at who you are. It makes you afraid, and fear can make you cruel. It compels you to conform and to comply and accept things that you would never accept, to do things you never thought you would do.”
— We’re heading into dark times. This is how to be your own light in the Age of Trump

Man’s search for meaning had been such an inspiration to many of us, and if we do survive this, perhaps it is worth having future generations know that there is always light in times of seemingly unending darkness.

Change/shift your career/business idea/plans

Among some of my peers we’re already contemplating to shift the course of our plans. We thought we had more time, but now we’re faced with this sinister uncertainty. Is the world going to be peaceful in the next year? Or five, ten, fifty years? Even if nothing happens, are we taking it for granted?

Participate

Find an organization or cause to contribute towards. It doesn’t have to be political, but become part of shaping the society we wish to live in, whether is it animal rights, climate change, the dignity of elderly, the education of young minds. Engage in civic-engagement exercises. Question our role in society. Uphold the freedom and rights of others. Speak out when someone is being discriminated, especially for those of us in privileged positions.

Mentor and nurture

There will be kids out there wondering what the hell is wrong with us adults for letting the world become the way it is now, or even be confused and scared. What can we do for them?

Perhaps I am writing this list for myself to counter my own sense of powerlessness. I feel uncertain about where we are heading to. The fact that many of us didn’t see Trump’s win or Brexit coming makes me feel even more unsafe, because we are so capable of taking things for granted until the situation has to prove itself to be untenable.

So I am going to love harder, create more, and worry less about what people think. I don’t wish to care if people think I am crazy, emotional or extreme. In fact, this elections have made me seriously doubt the sanity of the world around me. What are we willing to tradeoff, in exchange for satiety?

It is also an act of defiance to pursue aliveness in this world where we have already accepted lifelong servitude as the norm.