In a Trumped Up World, Indignation is Good For the Soul

Alright, it’s been a week since the 2016 presidential election results came in. Rather than jumping on board or going full-on postal, I’ve been giving the news some much needed reflection.

Truthfully, as a progressive with Democratic Socialist beliefs (I thought it was cool even before Bernie made it popular!), I struggle to see the PoV of Trump supporters. Interestingly, in my talks with most of them, they don’t like him either. They are either scared for their guns, vote party lines (blindly, I might add), or they are single issue voters who simply don’t understand all that’s at stake.

I won’t get into the political ideologies here in this blog post, it’s not what this is about. Instead, I want to speak out to those left wondering what on earth to do with this overwhelming fear, concern, and indignation.

Because you’re not alone.

If there’s one good thing this cluster of an election will bring about, it’s ferocious opposition from an otherwise overly docile group. It may also enlighten those who favored Trump, as they’ve been seriously duped. Retrospect will likely be their teacher. Going forward, hopefully we can let go of this extinction burst and move toward a place of unity and peace.

INDIGNATION

What is indignation, really? Why is it important, and in fact — a very good thing to embrace?

indignation
[in-dig-ney-shuh n]

noun

1. strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; righteous anger.

Elie Wiesel, political activist and Holocaust survivor is known to have said,

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death.”

Without indignation; without that fire in our guts telling us to stand UP, face our fears, and do what’s right — not simply what’s easy — we’ve already given into the darkness. Why bother even being here? Yes, you can be discerning. You can be calculating. But when you allow indifference to consume you, you only embolden the side of oppression.

RISE FRIENDS, RISE

If you don’t like the outcome of this year’s presidential election, do something about it. Put your indignation front and center and let it fill you. Let it guide you to enact the change we so desperately need and desire.

What could that action look like? Here are just a few ideas.

• Join or start a protest.
• Send money to support the causes you believe in.
• CALL your representatives (forget writing, they quite honestly don’t care).
• Be vocal. Don’t let fear stop you from speaking your mind.
• Join or support a political campaign for the 2018 mid-terms.
• Educate everyone you know on the issues at hand.
• Vote wisely with your dollars.

Now’s the time to become more vigilant than ever. Step up. Be heard.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Carissa Andrews is a Multipassionate MN Entrepreneur, Sci-fi Author, freelance writer, graphic designer and artist, unapologetic progressive, Lightworker, truthsayer, and occasional badass.

Her YA science fiction novel Pendomus, is available now through Amazon. Polarities, Book 2 of the Pendomus Chronicles is near completion and Revolutions, Book 3 of the Pendomus Chronicles is her 2016 NaNoWriMo project. Stay tuned for more details on their release!