5 Steps to Recover From The 2016 Election
Many people I know, including myself, are struggling to grapple with the implications of this election. Not only has a racist xenophobe won the election, but Republicans will now have complete control over every branch of government. For those of us concerned about racial tolerance, the environment, and preserving the social programs we do have, there are no words to describe how worried we are. And for those of us concerned about climate change, there is a growing terror about the Republican’s denial that global warming is man made, and what they will do when they have all the power.
So how can we process the results of this election? How can get back to the things that are important to us? How can we make the best of this situation?
1. Get in touch with your feelings.
It is perfectly understandable to grieve and feel anger about this. If you feel this way, don’t shove those feelings aside, or they will only linger in your bodies and end up reeking more havoc in your mind and body in the long run.
Instead, practice Emotional Freedom Technique, or meditate. If you meditate, stay mindful of your pain, without judgment, and then give compassion to your pain.
When you can exercise compassion for your own feelings, it becomes easier to develop compassion for other people. Furthermore, when you give your emotions the attention they are longing for, they no longer need to fester in your body.
2. Control what you take in.
Personally I have grave concerns about much of our news media. I believe in the effort to entertain us, they are much more likely to cover sensationalist news that plays to our emotions. Human interest stories about a specific character, a murder, or about what someone like Donald Trump says are covered far more than subjects that have much broader impact on our world. This has a huge impact about how we think about the world. For example, most Americans think our country is a much more dangerous place to live than it was 40 years ago, but if you look at the statistics, violent and gun crime has been dropping!
Much of what is being reported now is fanning the flames of anger, to make us more upset at other citizens who “sabotaged” our ability to get who we wanted in office. But what is neglected is the wide scale election fraud (not voter fraud), voter suppression, and the revelations by Wikileaks. Most Americans are not aware of the number of countries we are currently fighting, nor aware of the laws that have been changing regularly by our leaders to support corporations and the 0.1 %. There is much more not being covered that you will learn from International sources.
So, focus on what you need to know, and know that if it is a human interest story, it is not necessarily representative of a trend. For that you need to see the statistics! If it just makes you upset and leaves you feeling unempowered, stop watching it. Focus on solutions, and learn about what is possible.
For more information on reading the news without getting depressed, check out my article on the subject here.
3. Focus what we can do together:
This was the most negative and contentious election in modern history, and our president elect ran on a campaign of division. But if we focus all of our energy blaming each other, it does nothing to help us address the struggles the 99% of us are facing. In fact Matthew Cooke created a brilliant video on race baiting, which explains the origins of racism in the US and who benefits when we stay divided. Please watch and share this video widely:
A lot of people are still angry at others for voting for Trump or for not voting for Clinton. Again, use EFT or meditation to allow those feelings to be expressed and released. If you are having a hard time letting that go, remember the following things:
- According to the mainstream media, only 25% voted for Trump. Many people are concluding that this reveals how racist we really are. However, while most of his support was from Whites, there were minorities that voted for him too. Why? Because during the last 8 years, Obama’s policies that have favored corporations over people have contributed to the widening economic gap. They saw Clinton as a continuation of that. Trump was the anti-establishment candidate. Many people were so fed up with how hard it is to survive in this economy, they are desperate for change. He promised to abolish the TPP (the world trade deal) and bring jobs back to the US.
- Election fraud and voter suppression played a large role in determining both the outcome of the Democratic primaries and the General Election. In a recent Harvard study, the US was ranked the lowest in election integrity in the West. Millions of minorities were purged from the polls in Southern States, and many were given provisional ballots, which are almost never counted. Election fraud has been happening at a variety of different levels, and it can, and has been determining who many of our recent presidents are. From having followed election fraud for over a decade, I strongly believe this the most important factor determining the outcome three of our elections since 2000.
- More people voted for Clinton than Trump, but Trump won in the rural areas, where one’s vote counts more.
- A lot of people voted against Clinton because of what was learned by the releasing of her emails, and other members of the DNC. While many people argue that she would be a far safer option than Trump, but International news sources and Wikileaks were warning of a possible World War III and nuclear war with Russia. Whether or not you believe it, for those that did, a choice between World War III/nuclear war with Clinton vs. possible civil war with Trump, was no choice at all. In fact, many people left their vote for president blank!
Our opinions of the candidates were determined largely by the media we chose to follow. For those who followed the mainstream media, the narrative we were fed was siphoned through the Clintons and the DNC, so their opinions of her were much more favorable. For those that no longer trust the mainstream media, and are using alternative media or foreign media to shape their opinions, their version of the truth is very different from those who still adhere to mainstream media. These days, it is tough to know what news sources to trust, as there is no longer any laws requiring the news to tell the truth in the US, and using the media as a propaganda tool is now legal.
- If you are mad about people voting for 3rd party candidates, consider this. We virtually only have a 2 party system in the US. If you don’t like either candidate, your only other option is a 3rd party. We do not have rank choice voting, which would allow voters to specify their second choices. We need to concentrate on changing a system that restricts everyone to a two party system, so that we can have a Democracy that would better reflect all of our values.
So all these factors, from election fraud, voter suppression, who controls the mainstream media narrative, the two party system, the choices we were left with, and corruption by the establishment all played an important role.
These are the very issues, and sources of power that we need to change to have a government that is in alignment with the opinions of the people. In-fighting will weaken our ability to make the changes we need to restore hope to so many of us.
Here is moving and brilliant reminder of why we need to stand together from Bernie’s campaign.
4. See the benefits.
For those of us who have been deeply concerned about the widening inequality and destruction of our Democracy, this election has unleashed a firestorm of anger that is getting people off of their couches and motivated to make changes. Democracy is not a bystander sport, but too many became complacent in the Obama years, and would probably have stayed so with Clinton.
But the times in history that have resulted in the greatest changes in our country (and others), were as a result of massive social upheaval and a commitment to change. For more evidence of this, and how to create change based on our history and lessons from other countries, check out this fantastic article from Yes magazine.
“Discontent is the first necessity of progress” — Thomas Edison
5. Take action
We will now have to fight harder to get the government to respond to our needs. That being said, if we participate in our Democracy, the energy of a united body of citizens fighting for change, not only helps us recognize that we are not alone, but can be very empowering!
We will need to keep our energy up, and stay focused with the aims we are trying to achieve. This can be a fantastic opportunity for significant changes to happen that will benefit the 99%.
Do you know anyone who is angry or distressed about this election? If you think this article will help, be sure to share with them!
“Little Boy Covering His Face” courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
“Friends Meditating In Lotus Pose, Peace Of Mind“courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
“Group Of Friends Pile Up Hands As Unity Oath” courtesy of nenetus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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