For now, I expect the worst. How can it be otherwise when seemingly every news story tells me that Donald Trump is shaping up to beat Joe Biden in 2024? When Black voters, one of Biden’s bedrocks, are reportedly fleeing the Democratic Party? If that’s right, this country will never be the same. If that’s right, how could I not be anxious?
“Anxious” doesn’t really describe it: It’s more like a visceral fear, one that speeds the heart rate, dilates the pupils and quickens the breathing. I quickly imagine a dystopian future where the right wing gets absolutely everything it wants. And I know where a person like me would end up in their ideal world: With no rights and no quality of life.
When the New York Times looks at a handful of key states and reports that Biden could lose to Trump, barring some major course correction, I spin out. When The Post reports that Trump plans to seek revenge in his second term on people who stopped him from doing what he wanted in his first term, I start to ponder my exit strategy. I wonder where I could move should such a thing happen and how I could afford to do so.
I wonder why some of my fellow Black Americans can’t see what I can see plainly. I wonder why a man with Trump’s record appeals to them. Why can’t they see the work of prosecutors Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg and Letitia James as noble efforts to hold the wealthiest and most powerful among us accountable? I can’t imagine why these voters think they will be better off under Trump than Biden.
I wonder why young people are turning to Trump when, as far as I can see, the kind of future he offers them runs counter to what they say they want. Toward a party whose main political goal appears to be religious tyranny. Toward those who don’t seem to be able to tell us exactly what they want, only what they think other people shouldn’t have. And make miserable the lives of the people they don’t like or whose bodies they seek to control.
These are big topics to tackle alone at home in the dim light of a laptop. I start to scan the online news sites for articles that support the idea that Trump could never win. I can’t find them anywhere. Then, I spin out some more, because I can’t understand what those who support him are thinking. I can’t fathom the vitriol that drives them.
I know there are many people — millions, certainly — like me, clicking and scrounging, looking for some semblance of hope. And who will look again tonight and look again tomorrow. If they are like me, this need will become a vicious loop: When I try to “unplug,” it can feel as though I’m not doing my duty. That I’m not staying properly involved or informed, or that I’m somehow drifting into the cozy apathy of apoliticism.
So, I plunge back in, stuck in this fight-or-flight cycle in which the weight of the world can sometimes feel overwhelming. I know my mental health is starting to suffer a tiny bit — just like it did four years ago when we all stood on the precipice of national ruin.
But, remember: We pulled America back from the brink in 2020. It was close, but we did it. That helps remind me that I’m not the only one who worries intensely about the fate of this country. And that, sometimes, gives me hope.
My best advice — and it’s not much — is this: When you find yourself spiraling, stop what you’re doing. Go outside and take a walk. Remember the things you’re grateful for and let the world do what it’s going to do. And seek out your people. Find your funniest friends and invite them over. Just remind yourself that there is still joy to be had. Talk to others who share your worldview. Then broaden the circle.
Second, don’t be afraid of information. It is scary, but increased access to data and news could teach us more about one another and that can strengthen our humanity. Don’t let it become a source of resentment and anxiety. Find ways to channel it for good.
Most of all? Register and vote. Because next year around this time, we will all be glued to our screens awaiting the fallout from what other people did or didn’t do.
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