It is what it is, and he is who he is...

Now what???

It is what it is, and he is who he is.
Now what?

After the election, I posted a Substack note about waking up at 84 and realizing I might die before my dream came to pass— a dream of a sane life without having to see, hear or think ever again about Donald Trump. Thousands of folks here—many of them oldsters like me—feel this same sense of dread and despair. The times have changed, not in a good way, and even pastors like John Pavlovitz are struggling to believe.

So. The bad man beat the good lady by only 1.48 points in the popular vote (final counts from blue urban areas are always slow), which is hardly the “mandate” Trump would have you believe.

The half of us who were outvoted are still in shock, watching as the president-elect rolls out his administration’s team—every person qualified by being the exact opposite of what the jobs require or what public service demands. Every person a billionaire or a suck-up smash-and-grab replica of the next “Leader of the Free World.” (I can’t believe I just wrote that he’d be a “leader”.)

How many billionaires can you fit in one administration? How about 14 so far… According to The Guardian, among other news sources, his proposed cabinet has a combined net worth of $340 Billion. 2881 times richer than Biden’s ($118 Million). Gonna be the most corrupt presidency money can buy.

Robert Reich just posted this, saying “Inequality is eating this country alive.”

The combined net worth of America’s twelve wealthiest people just passed $2 trillion. 12 people. $2 trillion. The bottom HALF of America collectively holds $3.5 trillion.

We may not be billionaires, but must we roll over in resignation? We already gave our all to the race. We’re exhausted and have our own lives to live while we can. So fuck trying to save democracy. Fuck trying to hold on to the rule of law. And fuck trying to save the planet for our kids and grandkids. It’s just all too much. Let the chips fall where they may, and may his supporters be stunned when the leopards eat their faces.

Except.
I can’t.

Maybe you can’t either. Tim Miller writes about the temptations of giving in to LOLNM (LOL Nothing Matters) in The Bulwark. That’s just not who we are.

NOW WHAT?

All I know is that there are a lot of us who are not going take the situation lying down. So how do we channel our energies into action when the attacks are hitting us on every front? I don’t know about you, but I don’t have enough hours in the day to monitor and respond to all of it, even if I did nothing else.

I don’t want to exhaust myself, so I’ve decided to focus on the areas I’m most passionate and knowledgeable about, and I suggest you do the same. My background is in public health (epidemiology and prevention) and journalism. Therefore I’m focusing on things like reproductive care and LGBTQ rights, pandemic prevention and response, food safety, health care access and cost, and accurate health information—like around vaccines. And IMHO the Daddy of prevention is readily available access to ACCURATE information, which means a free press, protection of journalists and quashing of conspiracy theories.

This is where YOU come in. What are YOUR particular areas of concern? Pick one from the list below, and let us know in the comments those people and/or organizations you follow, and non-profits you support in that area. Let us carve up the battlefield and get to work. I’ll list at the end of this post a few of the generalist folks I’m following.

Next post, probably tomorrow: What I do to stay “alive! with Joy.” Join me.

What will you focus on? And who/what would you suggest to others who share that area? Please add your focus and resource ideas in the comments, as a guide for others with similar concerns. (Below is a partial list—please add anything missing)

• Norms and the rule of law, the judiciary’s cases, equal justice

• Oligarchy and the sour power of outrageous wealth.

• Civil rights, including LGBTQ rights

• Immigration, deportation

• Education, separation of church and state

• Congress— people and upcoming legislation

• Labor, living wage

• The economy, corporate power, taxes

• Affordable housing

• Public health—pandemic response, reproductive rights, vaccines, food safety

• Climate change

• The environment

• Health care (insurance coverage, drugs, costs, access)

• Transportation and infrastructure

• Medicare and Social Security

• The media (social, written, spoken), truth, misinformation and the free press

• National defense

• International relations, incl. trade and tariffs

• Christian nationalism, fascism, terrorism

• Gun safety

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PUT YOURSELF IN THE WAY OF BEAUTY

All is not lost as long as you can find a moment of beauty in your day. I plucked these wild clematis seed heads a couple of weeks ago, with the intention of taking their photo. Finally did it this morning.

And from my walk this morning: the spirit of the Pacific Northwest—moss and ferns.

I look forward to reading your comments and ideas below. We’re in this together.

A FEW RESOURCES

A handful of the many people I’m following, all of whom are worth paying for a subscription, though much is available free. I’ll add more in later posts… so many great folks to follow.

Heather Cox Richardson. “Letters from an American”. Essential daily reading. Professor of political history at Boston College who puts today’s insanities in historical perspective.

The Jessicas: Jessica Valenti, who posts every day about abortion issues across the country; Jessica Craven, who offers “Chop Wood, Carry Water” with info about and links to quick actions you can take, and Jessica Yellin at News, Not Noise.

The Bulwark - a bunch of very thoughtful Never-Trumpers (former Republicans) with the goal of analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy, “country over party.” Also on YouTube. My favs are Jonathan V. Last (JVL), Sarah Longwood, Tim Miller, as well as Charlie Sykes, who is on his own now.

Robert Reich. Economist extraordinaire. And cartoonist.

Red state activists: Jess Piper, The View from Rural Missouri, Michele Hornish of Small Deeds Done.

Feminists: Lyz Lenz of “Men Yell at Me.” Celeste Davis at “Matriarchal Blessing.”

More to come. Stay sane and stay focused.