There will be times for strategic thinking and deliberate resistance, for community building and individual responsibility, for organizing, marching, and, of course, voting.
I got this in my email in box and it encapsulates so much of what I'm feeling now. Thanks for writing it! I'm spending Monday at a Teach-In at my local library about deportation defense. Protecting our most vulnerable community members is top of the list for me.
Thank you, Elliot, for this posting. I think we all are feeling buffeted by powerful emotions - deep sadness, deep frustration, yes - deep anger, and yet, also, important hope and readiness to stand ground. And fatigue - real fatigue. I think the most important awareness that each of us can hold is to know and affirm that we are not alone - we are together - and there are good, capable, qualified leaders who will help all of us to address the seemingly overwhelming issues at hand. We will need them, and they will need us.
Elliot, honest, humble, hard-working, open-minded, kind and caring Americans have my full support for the Trump reign. May it be short. We in Canada face our own crossroads.
Great piece on outrage. I’ve thought about my anger, frustration, hurt and the outrage of seeing injustice played out every day for 9 years. All my life I’ve believed in justice, only to watch trump get away with everything for an excruciating 9 years and running. Enough. Once our country voted this evil turd back in again, I simply refuse to do four more years of outrage. Life is too short.
So I prepared in case trump won.
Once the media turned clearly to trump in 2024, I turned it OFF. I boycotted cable news and newspapers. Talking heads and butt licking newspapers only enrage me.
I’m finding peace again in my life. I still know the relevant news, there are ways to get it without the drama and having to see and hear that human turd. I read my favorite Substack peeps like you!
But if there’s nothing we can do about trump and the MAGAs (other than vote), stop watching Groundhog Day. It’s up to our leaders who get paid to do it even if that hasn’t worked so far.
I have done very much the same thing… tuning out the drama and focusing on what is in front of me. Great response! Everyday is going to be a sh*t show now. Every Single Day!!
It’s going to feel like even longer too! It’s just nice to connect to likeminded people sometimes. We are in for a wild ride and I can try to tune most of it out but it’s great to know that we are out there already plotting our next votes! 😸
Reading this has given me much hope. I’m in my mid seventies and facing an unknown future in time. I’ve been working in volunteer community service my entire life in addition to a long demanding career. I’m beyond angry at my fellow Americans and feeling quite helpless. Someone recently declared he was “proper pissticated”! Perfect, probably came from my Scottish friend. If you want to express anger or insult someone, talk to a Scot. Right now, Elliot, I’m with you, relishing my anger, not wallowing. I first plan to never acquiesce, never give up and do what I can in my dotage.
"If you want to express anger or insult someone, talk to a Scot." Made me smile. Thank you, Charlotte. And thank you for your commitment not to acquiesce. I feel comforted the more people I see taking this stand.
In this era of "alternative facts", it is necessary to embrace the focusing power of embodied anger to burn away confusion and reveal clarity. Many of us, particularly on the left, have been socialized to avoid anger and we are unfamiliar with the intensity of such a powerful emotion. It has become our crippling 'kryptonite' which Trump uses to overwhelm and weaken us. We will get a lot of practice in honing our anger skills.
"Traditionally, it is said that the enlightened energy of anger is the wisdom of clarity. It is sharp, accurate, and penetrating insight. It sees what is wholesome and unwholesome, what is just and unjust, what is enlightenment and what is ignorance. Seeing clearly, we lay the ground for action." https://www.lionsroar.com/the-wisdom-of-anger/
To contain and channel such powerful energy, we must prepare ourselves to feel comfortable embodying such an energetic charge and to be able to channel it responsibly. Self-care is paramount in this skill and it will take time to become competent. Avoidance and acting out can sabotage the wisdom of anger and cause harm to self and others. Be aware that the MAGA's will attempt to trigger and shame you into submission. Know your limits and pick your fights carefully and compassionately.
I will never ever recognize that person as president of this United States. I will also never ever believe that this election was not rigged by the uber wealthy Federalist Society!
Now and again, I try to imagine what it might be like to live in Moscow or St. Petersburg as a citizen who values truth, honesty, openness, a just society. Imagine someone who has longed for that their entire life long and sees no prospect for that reality emerging any time in the future. Now, I imagine the long, tortured, slippery slope we are on to a perpetual status something like that of Russia, only also knowing what we once aspired to, had attained to some degree, and experienced as recently as the last four years under the Biden administration, even as the malignant counter-revolution was surging all around us. Why in the world were/are we susceptible to such a pathological and self destructive plunge from exalted aspirations of our Constitution and other founding principles? How does one live in a place of hope and compassion in the midst of endemic evil? We have been invaded and are being conquered from within. It's ironic that we're so concerned about what China might do with Tik Tok and yet we stood by and watched this cabal take over all three branches of our federal government. I spent most of last year hoping and trusting that there was a "silent majority" that would rise up at the election and reject a second round of the chaos we experienced under the last MAGA administration. They apparently didn't exist. So, I am out in the wilderness, wondering how to reconstruct a sense of hope for what I thought were bedrock principles under-girding our society.
We must foster unity and work toward a more inclusive and functional society by channeling frustration into efforts aligned with our ideals. Anger may ignite the desire for change, but optimism and purposeful action will sustain it.
Thank you, Elliott for sharing your rage. I too, feel anger, but mine is directed at the too bloody rich for their own good, trump/vance and their evil cohorts, project 2025ers whose immense greed renders them unfeeling, with no empathy for the millions more they choose to impoverish. Frankly, I wish the Earth would open up and swallow trump, vance, musk, bezos, zuckerberg. the other 868 billionaires and take all their possessions with them.
But as you say, anger is not the kind of energy we need now.
So, lead on Dear Friend, we'll hang together working for a better America to come.
This is a vengeful and spiteful bunch of bullies and sadists that our fellow citizens have burdened the country with. But the lasting damage is what frightens me most. People of good character are no longer allowed to be complacent. The people given power are shockingly violent and hateful, incompetent and corrupt- it’s going to be a rugged ride.
We have certainly hit the bottom of the proverbial barrel of despair. I am reminded of the TV series, “Revolution” (2012-2014) as well as the film, “Don’t Look Up”.
I do wonder as well about the opportunistic wealthy on the playground and what their intentions might be since it seems unlikely that it’s for good.
Those of us who have a heart and soul won’t lose it and we won’t give up on goodness or decency because those qualities need amplification in this time.
Thank you Eliot for all you contribute here. I am thrilled that the wise women’s voices are joining this powerful chorus.
I got this in my email in box and it encapsulates so much of what I'm feeling now. Thanks for writing it! I'm spending Monday at a Teach-In at my local library about deportation defense. Protecting our most vulnerable community members is top of the list for me.
This made my heart happy. I will also find a way to help protect vulnerable community members. I agree; it is so important.
Thank you, Elliot, for this posting. I think we all are feeling buffeted by powerful emotions - deep sadness, deep frustration, yes - deep anger, and yet, also, important hope and readiness to stand ground. And fatigue - real fatigue. I think the most important awareness that each of us can hold is to know and affirm that we are not alone - we are together - and there are good, capable, qualified leaders who will help all of us to address the seemingly overwhelming issues at hand. We will need them, and they will need us.
The pity is not only is the US about to suffer from these criminals, but the whole world too! Insane!
Elliot, honest, humble, hard-working, open-minded, kind and caring Americans have my full support for the Trump reign. May it be short. We in Canada face our own crossroads.
You so captured my mood. My husband and I will not watch one moment of Monday's "festivities"!
We will not be watching the clown show either. I prefer I Love Lucy reruns. At least they are really funny!
Yes, I feel just the same. It’s overwhelming. We must stay engaged locally, at the very least, and continue to embody our values in our lives. Build
community, help others with time or treasure, stay open.
You checked air the boxes. Thanks
Yes, thank you, K. These feel like possibilities, allowing breath that's been held to be released.
Great piece on outrage. I’ve thought about my anger, frustration, hurt and the outrage of seeing injustice played out every day for 9 years. All my life I’ve believed in justice, only to watch trump get away with everything for an excruciating 9 years and running. Enough. Once our country voted this evil turd back in again, I simply refuse to do four more years of outrage. Life is too short.
So I prepared in case trump won.
Once the media turned clearly to trump in 2024, I turned it OFF. I boycotted cable news and newspapers. Talking heads and butt licking newspapers only enrage me.
I’m finding peace again in my life. I still know the relevant news, there are ways to get it without the drama and having to see and hear that human turd. I read my favorite Substack peeps like you!
But if there’s nothing we can do about trump and the MAGAs (other than vote), stop watching Groundhog Day. It’s up to our leaders who get paid to do it even if that hasn’t worked so far.
I have done very much the same thing… tuning out the drama and focusing on what is in front of me. Great response! Everyday is going to be a sh*t show now. Every Single Day!!
Yes I think we all have to do what’s best for us individually. I just want him out of my head. It’s going to be a long four years!
It’s going to feel like even longer too! It’s just nice to connect to likeminded people sometimes. We are in for a wild ride and I can try to tune most of it out but it’s great to know that we are out there already plotting our next votes! 😸
Two years! Let’s hope they fall on their own swords by then.
Reading this has given me much hope. I’m in my mid seventies and facing an unknown future in time. I’ve been working in volunteer community service my entire life in addition to a long demanding career. I’m beyond angry at my fellow Americans and feeling quite helpless. Someone recently declared he was “proper pissticated”! Perfect, probably came from my Scottish friend. If you want to express anger or insult someone, talk to a Scot. Right now, Elliot, I’m with you, relishing my anger, not wallowing. I first plan to never acquiesce, never give up and do what I can in my dotage.
"If you want to express anger or insult someone, talk to a Scot." Made me smile. Thank you, Charlotte. And thank you for your commitment not to acquiesce. I feel comforted the more people I see taking this stand.
In this era of "alternative facts", it is necessary to embrace the focusing power of embodied anger to burn away confusion and reveal clarity. Many of us, particularly on the left, have been socialized to avoid anger and we are unfamiliar with the intensity of such a powerful emotion. It has become our crippling 'kryptonite' which Trump uses to overwhelm and weaken us. We will get a lot of practice in honing our anger skills.
"Traditionally, it is said that the enlightened energy of anger is the wisdom of clarity. It is sharp, accurate, and penetrating insight. It sees what is wholesome and unwholesome, what is just and unjust, what is enlightenment and what is ignorance. Seeing clearly, we lay the ground for action." https://www.lionsroar.com/the-wisdom-of-anger/
To contain and channel such powerful energy, we must prepare ourselves to feel comfortable embodying such an energetic charge and to be able to channel it responsibly. Self-care is paramount in this skill and it will take time to become competent. Avoidance and acting out can sabotage the wisdom of anger and cause harm to self and others. Be aware that the MAGA's will attempt to trigger and shame you into submission. Know your limits and pick your fights carefully and compassionately.
I will never ever recognize that person as president of this United States. I will also never ever believe that this election was not rigged by the uber wealthy Federalist Society!
Now and again, I try to imagine what it might be like to live in Moscow or St. Petersburg as a citizen who values truth, honesty, openness, a just society. Imagine someone who has longed for that their entire life long and sees no prospect for that reality emerging any time in the future. Now, I imagine the long, tortured, slippery slope we are on to a perpetual status something like that of Russia, only also knowing what we once aspired to, had attained to some degree, and experienced as recently as the last four years under the Biden administration, even as the malignant counter-revolution was surging all around us. Why in the world were/are we susceptible to such a pathological and self destructive plunge from exalted aspirations of our Constitution and other founding principles? How does one live in a place of hope and compassion in the midst of endemic evil? We have been invaded and are being conquered from within. It's ironic that we're so concerned about what China might do with Tik Tok and yet we stood by and watched this cabal take over all three branches of our federal government. I spent most of last year hoping and trusting that there was a "silent majority" that would rise up at the election and reject a second round of the chaos we experienced under the last MAGA administration. They apparently didn't exist. So, I am out in the wilderness, wondering how to reconstruct a sense of hope for what I thought were bedrock principles under-girding our society.
We must foster unity and work toward a more inclusive and functional society by channeling frustration into efforts aligned with our ideals. Anger may ignite the desire for change, but optimism and purposeful action will sustain it.
Thank you, Elliott for sharing your rage. I too, feel anger, but mine is directed at the too bloody rich for their own good, trump/vance and their evil cohorts, project 2025ers whose immense greed renders them unfeeling, with no empathy for the millions more they choose to impoverish. Frankly, I wish the Earth would open up and swallow trump, vance, musk, bezos, zuckerberg. the other 868 billionaires and take all their possessions with them.
But as you say, anger is not the kind of energy we need now.
So, lead on Dear Friend, we'll hang together working for a better America to come.
Every day, I look into the mirror and say to myself, "Expect Resistance". Then I smile.
This is a vengeful and spiteful bunch of bullies and sadists that our fellow citizens have burdened the country with. But the lasting damage is what frightens me most. People of good character are no longer allowed to be complacent. The people given power are shockingly violent and hateful, incompetent and corrupt- it’s going to be a rugged ride.
We have certainly hit the bottom of the proverbial barrel of despair. I am reminded of the TV series, “Revolution” (2012-2014) as well as the film, “Don’t Look Up”.
I do wonder as well about the opportunistic wealthy on the playground and what their intentions might be since it seems unlikely that it’s for good.
Those of us who have a heart and soul won’t lose it and we won’t give up on goodness or decency because those qualities need amplification in this time.
Thank you Eliot for all you contribute here. I am thrilled that the wise women’s voices are joining this powerful chorus.