After the election—We must move in something other than fear

“When we aren’t mindful about principled struggle, we can end up caught in the kind of reductionist group-think that proliferates online but is rooted in, and heightens, our offline discomfort with generative conflict in cases of disagreement and difference.” —Adrienne Marie Brown

The U.S. presidential election is entering the final stretch, and tensions are high all around, with many people—at least online—expressing deep anxiety and fear about the outcome. Right now, the common thread that seems to connect our shared humanity in this country is fear.

Regardless of what side you are on, and what candidate you are supporting or not, the common denominator is fear. Fear of what another Trump term may bring, for example. Will we move to full-on fascism? Will the remains of democracy be fully annihilated under Trump? Will we be stripped of all our rights? Will the empire crumble and the people rise up?

Or will Harris win and full-on socialism take hold? Will the Democrats keep controlling the weather? Will people lose their guns? Some of the fears comings out of the pro-Trump side do sound ludicrous, but in today’s world, people often see their beliefs as gospel truth even when the facts say otherwise.

Then there are those rooting for a collapse of the country so that we can grow and do better. Where in the aftermath of the smoldering ruins of country, mindfulness and care for others will suddenly spring forward and a place where we collectively and universally care for the world and each other will rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

The funny thing is that if you step back and actually listen to people, the majority of Americans want the same things: affordable housing, food, and healthcare. Granted, affordable is nuanced but ultimately people want to know that if they work, they can actually have a safe and warm place to live; healthcare that won’t bankrupt them along with the ability to actually receive timely care; checkups and medications that don’t require hard financial decisions—as well as having a few bucks left over for a few wants in life.

We also all want safety. For some, safety is only about their immediate circle; for others, it is safety for all beings on Earth. To know that our taxes which fund the U.S. government aren’t being used to create harm and unsafe conditions for others. Sort of like what’s happening in Gaza, where American funds are underwriting the annihilation of a people in real time, before our eyes.

Of course, there are other things that many of us want that should also be named.A climate that is not spiraling out of control, access to affordable transportation, the freedom to be ourselves, to live and love according to our will and wishes, and have agency over our own bodies are the ones that immediately come to mind.

When I write it all down, and think about the conversations I engage in—online and off—and look beyond the respective rhetoric of various groups, I see more threads that potentially could connect us, instead of the current state of divisiveness, apathy, fear, and angst that have taken over our national psyche and souls.

To be fair, fearmongering is a lucrative hustle in today’s world. Several brilliant writers who I used to enjoy on the left have gone full throttle with almost daily, frantic newsletters and Substacks about how dire the world has become and how there is no hope for us. We are doomed, according to their words—thoughts that are gobbled up and absorbed, sitting uncomfortably in many bodies.

Fear sells podcasts and has effectively created MAGA Nation. If you ever take a moment to listen to self-identified MAGA folks. At the heart of their concerns is fear—fear of losing their positions, fear of those deemed “other” taking from them, fear of the government, fear on every level. Fear of their own humanity.

But make no mistake, fear on the left is also gaining steam and the problem with a nation of fear is that fear and what it does to our brains and bodies keeps us from mobilizing and considering what is possible. Fear keeps up trapped in the spiral of groupthink that prevents us from being mindful and engaging in principled struggle. It keeps us from holding compassion and from going deeper with ourselves. There are times when fear is critical to our survival. I mean, driving without seatbelts should be a little fearful—greater chance of harm in the event of an accident. Fear while walking down a dark, isolated street in a sketchy neighborhood. Things like that.

However, the fear that many of us are holding around the election is not a useful fear. It is the fear that leads to anxiety, restless nights, raised blood pressure, and general discomfort in our bodies, minds, and spirits.

The uncomfortable truth is, regardless of who wins, a significant portion of the populace is not going to be happy. Depending on the outcome, some of those people may decide to reenact the horrors of January 6 for the whole country. Our fears are not going to bring an end to the pain and suffering in Gaza or at home.

Depending on who wins, we may see ramped up extremism and mayhem or the maintaining of the status quo—which, while better than warp-speed extremism and fascism, is no great shakes either.

Better than the collective anxiety and fear that has gripped us all is striving for collective planning, connection, and hope built on the reality that increasingly—as the world fractures and the mask of inequality is ripped off the face of the empire—we know that we face hard times. No matter who is elected, we should consider making plans to care for ourselves and others in equal measures. To plan for a day where we don’t cancel one another but instead, call each other in with grace. To accept reality as it is, while holding the vision of what can be created and a willingness to pour energy into that. Not our fears.

No matter who is elected, the material conditions for many will not be changed. Here or abroad, it is a false sense of hope to believe that certain outcomes will allow for a collective sigh of relief.

I must share that when it was announced that Kamala Harris was running, I did feel a sense of hope. But as the months go by, while I feel a sense of pride at seeing a Black Asian woman in the running to become the most powerful person on this dusty rock, I have also had to accept that she falls short in many ways and, at best, will probably be a maintainer of the status quo. It is a case of where multiple things can be true; the duality of life. In my opinion, though, in this instance maintaining the status quo is better than a plan to set it ablaze without a safe house to rebuild from.

In these days before the election, I urge you to nourish what feels healing instead of nourishing your fears. Mind your consumption of media, connect offline, and do what you can to build in meatspace.

We have lots to do after this election. Elections are just one of the instruments in the toolkit of change. An important one but not the only one, especially with a slew of down-ballot races that are equally as important as the presidential one to pay attention to.

Let our collective anxiety become the soil from which we plant collective hope.


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