TRUMP PRESIDENCY SURVIVAL KIT: Four steps to becoming a better citizen
Step 1: CALM THE F*** DOWN!
Good news: we just found out our democracy still works. Most of the electorate, for better or worse, just gave the establishment a great big middle finger. Our elections aren’t being rigged behind our backs by the powerful elites. I know, I know! It’s not worth the cost. FOCUS DAMMIT.
Step 2: Get up off the floor!
Remember those speeches about going high when they go low? Remember how those ads kept reminding us “our children are watching.” Guess what? They are still watching.
They won this round. I’m old enough to remember what it feels like to lose big elections. Believe it or not, this isn’t the first racist we’ve elected, nor is he the first sexual offender, or even the first unqualified buffoon.
Our 45th president just offered a victory speech that was moderately toned, but we will have to quickly become accustomed to waiting with anxiety to discover if there is any connection between what he says and what he does. The jury, as they say, is out on that one (not sure about the jury involving his upcoming rape and fraud trials, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there).
Step 3: You know how most things turn out to be a lot more complicated than you first thought? Yeah, that happened.
This is a dark day for progressive people, for people who thought their country had more hope and love than hate and fear; but maybe that’s not the whole picture. Perhaps what has failed us is not our arguments to make words such as freedom and liberty more inclusive in our public lives or to keep our planet comfortably habitable; maybe it was something else entirely.
What if it’s just simple fear? It is, after all, the oldest trick the dictator’s playbook. A rich buffoon wandered all over the country, obediently trailed by our celebrity-obsessed, advertisement time-driven media passing out gobs of fear at every whistle-stop. He is treated by that media as a viable, reasonably competent presidential candidate despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
Meanwhile a direct line can be traced from this moment to the collapse of the housing bubble, which was the cherry on top of three decades of economic devastation to the livelihoods and families of our industrial age rust belt and our isolated rural communities, long forgotten by the city-dwelling cultural melting pot.
Step 4: So what now?
Stand up straight. You’re part of history now, like it or not — what are you going to do with this chance to make the world better? Or did you really not care after all?
That’s the question we must all face as we stare into the mirror and find Donald J. Trump smirking back at us.
What if this dark night in our history is the spark we need to stand up and take back our country from the silly institutions and insane people profiting from its corruption?
What if, as a result of tonight’s events, our society’s growing apathy never gets the opportunity to destroy its host, as is its wont. Instead, it ignites us with passion in the face of the naked fascism and human cruelty we’re about to endure.
Our liberties have been tested before. This generation has the chance to be each other’s hero.
Stay connected, stay strong, stay informed. Put a premium on truth, bravely face our own shadows, and pick each other up. Be there for one another when they try to roll back the clock on us.
There are no sidelines left and the bench is cleared. Off your ass.