I started this post in late October, long before the recent US election, although what you will read has been revised. Nonetheless, apparently I was prescient.
From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition, watershed /wô′tər-shĕd″, wŏt′ər-/, noun:
- The entire region draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.”a list of reptiles found in the watershed.”
- A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems.
- A critical point that marks a division or a change of course; a turning point.
It seems the United States needs more time to process the infection before it does the work of healing. Shadow work can be like that, and there were a lot of signs that the country needed to do that work before it can move forward. I admit, I was hoping I was reading those signals wrong.
I’m not particularly observant of, or knowledgeable about, politics so I am not going to try and opine about WHY the election was so surprising in its final numbers.
Instead, I offer you my thoughts on ways you can move forward, and through, the turbulent times that are coming. *deep breath in / slow exhale and release*
First, and most importantly, get your legal affairs in order. I think we have until mid January before things will start to get murky and big delays will happen, but the sooner you start the sooner it will be done. Document who has access and decision-making rights in your current life and at the end of life. Make sure your identification is up to date; do the REAL ID stuff, get a passport (or renew it). Prove you are who you are, and who has legal access to you to the best of your ability, before it gets harder and more questioned.
Take a hard look at where your digital life is stored, and get it offline and onto hard copy. Download your ebooks to your computer. Start buying physical copies of reading material. OWN the things, don’t lease or rent them. Services can be removed, or made so expensive they can’t be there for you anymore. Don’t trust “the cloud” to store important things anymore, you do not know how it can be weaponized against you. As we learned from the first administration, this is especially important for documentation regarding the truth about all of the -isms. Future generations need to know the truth, and that means preserving it offline (ideally hard copy).
To the best of your ability, learn how to be self-sufficient and frugal. For some that will mean starting a garden, for others it will mean learning to bake bread, and for others it means learning to manage resources. Food insecurity is already an issue for too many, climate shifts are only going to worsen, and the cost of everything is going to become stupid, if all the promises are enacted. How can you navigate that? Even learning one skill that makes you less dependent on something the government can effect will make a positive difference.
Do what you can, even if that means keeping your head down. In other authoritarian regimes there were plenty of people who didn’t make waves and just got on with their lives. Yes, it’s lovely if we have the spoons, resources, training, or resources to be heroic. But the reality is that it’s up to each of us to navigate the coming times as best we can, we don’t owe anyone anything more than we owe ourselves. As a sub-line on this, don’t get caught up in performative rather than supportive actions. Wearing a safety pin or blue bracelet doesn’t reassure anyone that matters. As Mark Silver said, “Trust in a broken, traumatized, segregated culture is forged one person at a time, over time, and proven in the situation.”
Finally, don’t give up. Things do not look great, to put it mildly, but it will not last forever. One of the reasons things got this bad because we have been deeply divided and othered. Find people — even a few — who you trust and spend time with them. Create connection, encourage creativity, seek joy. There are good people in the world and authoritarian regimes do not last.