Trump was elected
Here are some of the voices I've heard concerning this (disclaimer, there's some profanity):
Laci Green
Casey Neistat
Tim Urban (Wait But Why)
Ethan & Hila Klein (H3H3)
June Lapine (Shoe0nHead)
VOX Media
CGP Grey
Top post on r/endlesswar
School of Life
Slavoj Žižek
Simone Giertz
This is in addition to personal conversations, conversations in classes, and to the exception of most news sites, which I don't really trust to have integrity (I don't trust VOX all that much either, but at least they're coherent). The two that resonate the most: H3H3's video is a good goofy video, Slavoj Žižek is pretty fantastic to listen to; but regardless and of course, all have their merits.
Here's what I want to say to all of those who felt they needed to save this country and perhaps the world from Trump.
Feelings
Feelings are powerful and are useful. Without them we have difficulty connecting with each other. In my experience, feelings are the spark of free thinking. They activate the rest of the parts of us. They invest-us-in and motivate-us-to thoughts and action. Without strong feelings we never get over the obstacles to making change.
That said, I'm not a feeler, really. When I approach situations, I try to break them down logically into little pieces that I don't have to feel about. When events like this happen, I go through feelings, but I don't stay there - I like to spend my time dwelling on what I think about situations, and I try to systematize them. When I found out Trump was elected, I didn't feel good. I had to wrench myself up from out of bed, I took a bath and had ice cream for breakfast. But my antennas for ideas were out, my ears were up. There's thinking to be done.
My colleagues/classmates reacted in emotional ways, too. Tears were shed. June would probably categorize us all as "literal shakers". I think that's alright, on the principle that emotions are valuable, but what is next? What more can we do?
"It's going to be okay"
It think it's very naive to think that nothing has changed about this country - that for some reason we float around an ideological equilibrium. Cultures change, countries change, technology changes, policies change - and this democracy is the process by which we change. Why should we expect things not to change? Why elect a new president at all, if we thought that our country was the same as it always was? This is my biggest disagreement with Tim Urban's piece. Passing policy to change immigration, or citizenship of Muslims, or rights of queer folk, has an impact, otherwise we wouldn't fight, for or against those policies. When Trump brings a dialogue about women or Muslims to the television screen, and then he gets elected president - it makes a difference. "It's going to be okay" sounds like a call to complacency, to me. We are in flux.
That said, one person, or even one presidential cabinet, is not the sole pilot of our country. I am reminded by people older than myself that we have had bitter elections before, and our country still works sometimes. This scenario is a brand new iteration of a long standing idea. We have had peaceful transfer of power for at least 150 years (depending on your interpretation of peaceful transfer of power). Our government has a stability built in, but at the same time, it still moves. Our democracy is not a bulletproof representation of justice, but it also is not weak. The trick of navigating this is where I get to the heart of what I want to say.
Gear up
I think now is a time where we should kick our critical thought into high gear. Now is a time to listen, and to learn and to practice unity - to gracefully wield our attention, which is our greatest resource.
I have heard sentiments similar to those of Laci Green, and I would be lying if I said I didn't look a little bit into the best way for me to immigrate to Canada. Why? Rejection of our president (#notmypresident), fleeing to Canada. What is the statement there? Our ideals of justice were always worth fighting for. It seems to be in the spirit of denial and self-numbing to not accept our situation. It seems to be in the spirit of xenophobia to not even attempt to understand other viewpoints. It seems the election is mostly a loss for those who believe in social justice and peace. The battle uphill has seemingly become steeper, but there is something that energizes me.
With the election of Trump there is an element of anarchy. Bernie advocated for this same thing, a shift of power, a dismantlement. Unfortunately, Trump seems to want to dismantle and rebuild in ways that I don't agree with, sure, but that element of anarchy is still there. The iron is hot!
With Hillary there was the promise of Machiavellian stability. Her power depended on the maintenance of a political system, one with inertia. Things wouldn't change because that would shift power away from her. I voted for Hillary, stable stale untrustworthy, rather than Trump, unstable violent self-interested, in the hopes that a good instability would come along (or come back) next election. Turns out the instability will come sooner than I wanted.
Take advantage of the craziness that Trump will bring! New conversations of race and gender and economic justice will come out of the woodwork. Have those conversations gracefully! Practice compassion, and see why Trump was elected in the first place (This video about Trump supporters in West Virginia helped me a little bit). Practice a listener's ambivalence (in the psychotherapy sense). We will not be able to navigate this craziness headless, and if we do not navigate it, we let those dialogues of fear and hatred navigate it for us. Yes we don't feel so good about this, or at least I don't, but I feel that anarchy is the silver lining, here. The polarization and xenophobia of our country is our biggest call to action - to learn, to advocate, to listen, to communicate, to educate.
EDIT (1/27/17): I was wrong about the anarchy. I'll correct myself harder, with a post, when I get the chance
Laci Green
Casey Neistat
Tim Urban (Wait But Why)
Ethan & Hila Klein (H3H3)
June Lapine (Shoe0nHead)
VOX Media
CGP Grey
Top post on r/endlesswar
School of Life
Slavoj Žižek
Simone Giertz
This is in addition to personal conversations, conversations in classes, and to the exception of most news sites, which I don't really trust to have integrity (I don't trust VOX all that much either, but at least they're coherent). The two that resonate the most: H3H3's video is a good goofy video, Slavoj Žižek is pretty fantastic to listen to; but regardless and of course, all have their merits.
Here's what I want to say to all of those who felt they needed to save this country and perhaps the world from Trump.
Feelings
Feelings are powerful and are useful. Without them we have difficulty connecting with each other. In my experience, feelings are the spark of free thinking. They activate the rest of the parts of us. They invest-us-in and motivate-us-to thoughts and action. Without strong feelings we never get over the obstacles to making change.
That said, I'm not a feeler, really. When I approach situations, I try to break them down logically into little pieces that I don't have to feel about. When events like this happen, I go through feelings, but I don't stay there - I like to spend my time dwelling on what I think about situations, and I try to systematize them. When I found out Trump was elected, I didn't feel good. I had to wrench myself up from out of bed, I took a bath and had ice cream for breakfast. But my antennas for ideas were out, my ears were up. There's thinking to be done.
My colleagues/classmates reacted in emotional ways, too. Tears were shed. June would probably categorize us all as "literal shakers". I think that's alright, on the principle that emotions are valuable, but what is next? What more can we do?
"It's going to be okay"
It think it's very naive to think that nothing has changed about this country - that for some reason we float around an ideological equilibrium. Cultures change, countries change, technology changes, policies change - and this democracy is the process by which we change. Why should we expect things not to change? Why elect a new president at all, if we thought that our country was the same as it always was? This is my biggest disagreement with Tim Urban's piece. Passing policy to change immigration, or citizenship of Muslims, or rights of queer folk, has an impact, otherwise we wouldn't fight, for or against those policies. When Trump brings a dialogue about women or Muslims to the television screen, and then he gets elected president - it makes a difference. "It's going to be okay" sounds like a call to complacency, to me. We are in flux.
That said, one person, or even one presidential cabinet, is not the sole pilot of our country. I am reminded by people older than myself that we have had bitter elections before, and our country still works sometimes. This scenario is a brand new iteration of a long standing idea. We have had peaceful transfer of power for at least 150 years (depending on your interpretation of peaceful transfer of power). Our government has a stability built in, but at the same time, it still moves. Our democracy is not a bulletproof representation of justice, but it also is not weak. The trick of navigating this is where I get to the heart of what I want to say.
Gear up
I think now is a time where we should kick our critical thought into high gear. Now is a time to listen, and to learn and to practice unity - to gracefully wield our attention, which is our greatest resource.
I have heard sentiments similar to those of Laci Green, and I would be lying if I said I didn't look a little bit into the best way for me to immigrate to Canada. Why? Rejection of our president (#notmypresident), fleeing to Canada. What is the statement there? Our ideals of justice were always worth fighting for. It seems to be in the spirit of denial and self-numbing to not accept our situation. It seems to be in the spirit of xenophobia to not even attempt to understand other viewpoints. It seems the election is mostly a loss for those who believe in social justice and peace. The battle uphill has seemingly become steeper, but there is something that energizes me.
With the election of Trump there is an element of anarchy. Bernie advocated for this same thing, a shift of power, a dismantlement. Unfortunately, Trump seems to want to dismantle and rebuild in ways that I don't agree with, sure, but that element of anarchy is still there. The iron is hot!
With Hillary there was the promise of Machiavellian stability. Her power depended on the maintenance of a political system, one with inertia. Things wouldn't change because that would shift power away from her. I voted for Hillary, stable stale untrustworthy, rather than Trump, unstable violent self-interested, in the hopes that a good instability would come along (or come back) next election. Turns out the instability will come sooner than I wanted.
Take advantage of the craziness that Trump will bring! New conversations of race and gender and economic justice will come out of the woodwork. Have those conversations gracefully! Practice compassion, and see why Trump was elected in the first place (This video about Trump supporters in West Virginia helped me a little bit). Practice a listener's ambivalence (in the psychotherapy sense). We will not be able to navigate this craziness headless, and if we do not navigate it, we let those dialogues of fear and hatred navigate it for us. Yes we don't feel so good about this, or at least I don't, but I feel that anarchy is the silver lining, here. The polarization and xenophobia of our country is our biggest call to action - to learn, to advocate, to listen, to communicate, to educate.
EDIT (1/27/17): I was wrong about the anarchy. I'll correct myself harder, with a post, when I get the chance
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