I’m feeling shock and sadness today after Trump’s landslide in the US election yesterday. My prediction of a victory for Harris proved to be spectacularly wrong and rather than a chance for renewal, this election has taken the entire world in to a darker future.
There are people I know who don’t agree with me. They see Trump as a strong leader and their saviour. They don’t seem to mind the crudeness, the inarticulate ramblings, the ominous threats.
Human nature is strange isn’t it? Someone who is to me a conman, a liar, and fraud has beguiled millions of people. They see something in him that I don’t. What it says to me is that there are plenty of people in this world who actually approve of bullying and want a leader who is at best rude, at worst a selfish autocrat.
This morning I did have a moment of levity though it was based on sadness. It’s like a weird joke that somehow, some of the most disenchanted and vulnerable people have voted for a man whom they think offers them a better life. It’s ironic isn’t it? He’s made it very clear what he stands for and who he intends to put in charge of things like healthcare. The very people who will take away the things those most vulnerable people need.
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While for those of us with a liberal bent this is a disaster in the offing, we have to accept it is what the majority of voters in America wanted. You won’t hear us whining and lying about ‘stolen elections’ even though social media companies, billionaires and many more have been spreading falsehoods and negative narratives for years.
Yes there are many complex reasons as to why he won again including a sense of displacement and anger in America. But those that voted for him seem oblivious to the fact that much of what they are complaining about is the result of his decisions and actions while in office. A case in point is people who are angry about illegal immigration. Yet Trump never completed his great wall, and when Biden proposed a measure to stop immigration, Trump instructed Republicans to block it so it would help him win re-election, and they did. He and they are not interested in the average American, and sadly we will see that play out over the next few years.
This wouldn’t matter so much if America was a small country like New Zealand with virtually no impact on the wider world, but it is, for the moment, the dominant world power and so the consequences have global reach.
So where to from here for all of us who are grieving this result? That’s a tough one and as of right now, I don’t really have an answer except to say that perhaps we just lick our wounds. Acknowledge that the result really sucks. It is ok to feel crap about it.
But one thing that might help is to remember to be grateful for all the good things in our lives and to just get on living those lives by doing the things that fulfil you. Hug your friends, go for a walk by the ocean, cook a nice meal and most importantly remember that timeless maxim – ‘this too shall pass’.
Does that sound glib?
Yeah maybe, but ultimately we don’t know what the future will bring and in times of uncertainty going back to basics and reminding oneself of the positives in life can really help.
One final thing. Thank you Kamala Harris for trying. You had humour, energy, intelligence, and grace. Sadly, too many in your country didn’t want that.
