The outcomes of the national election do matter, and the impacts on our lives should not be underestimated or understated, even though we may not feel very many changes yet so soon. For example, military families with LGBTQ members are already devastated, scared and heartbroken by the anti-LGBTQ provisions banning gender affirming care in the military spending bill. Military families serve to protect our lives, and place their own lives at risk to protect our freedoms, and they deserve to have their lives protected too! It is a precarious time for our country, especially for marginalized minorities in all walks of life.
I agree that the outcomes do matter and there will be (and already are) people being affected. Advocacy and working for change are still important, and I plan on keeping up doing what I can do. But simply living in outrage doesn't help with that. It can be a fine line between putting your head in the sand and choosing to not get hijacked emotionally.
Louise - your writing sums up my feelings so eloquently. I don't think we can make progress if we subsist on outrage. I was looking for something other than my typical news sources as well to try to get the perspective of others and also found Tangle and subscribed - I've been enjoying it. I'm also engaging more in our town to look out for the marginalized and vulnerable and make sure they are not trampled while our new leaders rush to put up walls and create a 'Coastal Elite' village. I really appreciate your writing and your recommendations. Thank you!
Louise, I love this post! Thank you so much. Love the list of things you’ve been doing. Your dad is a lucky man. Also love the book and movie recommendations. And I’ve been meaning to check out Tangle, so thanks for that too.
But my very favorite part of your article is “…I like facts.” So you actually counted and learned that more things than you thought went your way. Ah, facts. They can reveal so much!
Thanks for your note. And yeah, I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind when I actually put that 80 percent figure down. Something about having it in black and white made me do a double check. And glad you found the media recommendations helpful!
You've done quite a bit since your last newsletter. Probably much more than you thought. Congratulations. As for politics, I think one of your sentences encapsulated it: outrage is much easier than perspective. Outrage seems to be what our country voted for. It's nice you can get some distance. I find that my writing helps. Strap in and hang on for the ride for the next two years.
I was so surprised when I spoke to my good friend who is a Republican/Libertarian a week before the election that she was as scared of a Harris win as I was of a Trump win. For her it was all about the Prime Currency (I think that was what it was called -- you're a banker, maybe you know! Something about the US losing its place as a currency benchmark) and massive government overspending. I am more worried about the election misinformation and marginalized folks getting their rights trampled and I guess I just figure the economics will work themselves out. I mean, it was the Obama administration that got us out of the '08 crisis, right? So the Dems must not be completely irresponsible. But that was her biggest fear. She felt like her vote was for stability. Goes to show how differently we can see things.
I was blown away by Know My Name. Interesting that you felt worse after the election in 2016! I think that one surprised me more but this time I felt much more despair. Either way, not cool.
Despair is never a good feeling. I think '16 hit me worse because I couldn't imagine someone like him could get elected (and he did actually get fewer votes, so my feeling was legit.) But this time I knew it could happen, although I was optimistic up until the very end. Sigh.
I had a surgery on Oct 30 this year which left me mostly inactive for about 2 weeks. Watching too much news just compounded my post surgery anxiety in the lead up to the election. And after the election, I had to shut off all new sources for a while and figure out what I was going to do to battle a certain sense of depression.
I care a lot about science (as you know) and I have always spent time trying to dig up scientific facts. Also, I study technology for my job and as a hobby. So, my answer to the election results was to start a substack!
I haven't worried so much about it so far, thinking perhaps it is just a passing phase, but here I am more than a month on, still posting. I've been calling it "Daily Tech and Science" (the abbreviation of which (DTS) is the same as the abbreviation of Donald Trump Sucks). Every day's post has a number associated with it (today's is 1494) which turns out to be the number of days until Inauguration Day, Jan 20, 2029.
So, yeah... That's the odd way in which I have been coping with the election results.
Thanks for the reply! Sorry about your surgery and subsequent spiral. Yeah, watching a lot of news is not a good Rx for recovery. I get all my news from reading either print, digital print, or newsletters that are known sources. I find watching TV or even radio doesn't give me enough buffer. Congrats on the new outlet as well -- I've subscribed!
I'm so intrigued by Tangle. We were having a conversation in the Feminist Book Club community the other week about where we all get our news these days because the landscape has changed so drastically. I must admit, a lot of what I read at this point comes from the link roundups in the newsletters of the experts and journalists I admire most. I also recently started to follow Ground News, a platform that shares stories across the political spectrum, analyzing and comparing how they've been reported out. I'll have to have a look at this Tangle, too...
I had heard of Ground News and I think even downloaded the app one time, but I just couldn't get into it for whatever reason. I'm actually a pretty narrow bandwidth news person so I think it just became overwheming. That's why Tangle works for me -- just one topic a day. It seems maybe there is a grassroots movement of people looking for better ways to consume news. I hope so at least, as I think that would be a good thing.
Post-election perspective seems to be a theme among people I know and it's something I wrote about on my last Substack. I applaud you for taking that step back and realizing you can still enjoy life when things don't go the way we'd like. I'm simplifying, of course, but it's a healthier approach, IMO, than continuous outrage. And it's not to be confused with capitulation or disinterest. I've been reading Tangle since I heard about it on This American Life and agree it's a good newsletter for calm, neutral news delivery and allowing for more than one viewpoint to be expressed safely. Thanks for the book recs, too!
Yes! I remember resonating with your last newsletter. I liked how you said detachment isn't a lack of caring, but a separation of action from expectation, or of observation from emotional response. This is very much like meditation, as you mentioned. My Buddhist practice is one of the things that is driving this work I feel called to right now. I know intellectually that there is no Us and Them, but it's so easy to get trapped into that mindset. But it also doesn't mean you have to give up advocacy.
The outcomes of the national election do matter, and the impacts on our lives should not be underestimated or understated, even though we may not feel very many changes yet so soon. For example, military families with LGBTQ members are already devastated, scared and heartbroken by the anti-LGBTQ provisions banning gender affirming care in the military spending bill. Military families serve to protect our lives, and place their own lives at risk to protect our freedoms, and they deserve to have their lives protected too! It is a precarious time for our country, especially for marginalized minorities in all walks of life.
I agree that the outcomes do matter and there will be (and already are) people being affected. Advocacy and working for change are still important, and I plan on keeping up doing what I can do. But simply living in outrage doesn't help with that. It can be a fine line between putting your head in the sand and choosing to not get hijacked emotionally.
Louise You are so right "living in out rage" does NOT help at all. Tried it !
On a personal note say hi to your Dad for me.
Thanks JoAnne -- and yes, usually we have to find these things out the hard way! I will definitely send your greetings to my dad.
Louise - your writing sums up my feelings so eloquently. I don't think we can make progress if we subsist on outrage. I was looking for something other than my typical news sources as well to try to get the perspective of others and also found Tangle and subscribed - I've been enjoying it. I'm also engaging more in our town to look out for the marginalized and vulnerable and make sure they are not trampled while our new leaders rush to put up walls and create a 'Coastal Elite' village. I really appreciate your writing and your recommendations. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your note. Outrage is draining, and for me it keeps me from having the energy to keep plugging away at what needs to be done.
Louise, I love this post! Thank you so much. Love the list of things you’ve been doing. Your dad is a lucky man. Also love the book and movie recommendations. And I’ve been meaning to check out Tangle, so thanks for that too.
But my very favorite part of your article is “…I like facts.” So you actually counted and learned that more things than you thought went your way. Ah, facts. They can reveal so much!
All the best to you and your family.
Thanks for your note. And yeah, I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind when I actually put that 80 percent figure down. Something about having it in black and white made me do a double check. And glad you found the media recommendations helpful!
You've done quite a bit since your last newsletter. Probably much more than you thought. Congratulations. As for politics, I think one of your sentences encapsulated it: outrage is much easier than perspective. Outrage seems to be what our country voted for. It's nice you can get some distance. I find that my writing helps. Strap in and hang on for the ride for the next two years.
I was so surprised when I spoke to my good friend who is a Republican/Libertarian a week before the election that she was as scared of a Harris win as I was of a Trump win. For her it was all about the Prime Currency (I think that was what it was called -- you're a banker, maybe you know! Something about the US losing its place as a currency benchmark) and massive government overspending. I am more worried about the election misinformation and marginalized folks getting their rights trampled and I guess I just figure the economics will work themselves out. I mean, it was the Obama administration that got us out of the '08 crisis, right? So the Dems must not be completely irresponsible. But that was her biggest fear. She felt like her vote was for stability. Goes to show how differently we can see things.
I was blown away by Know My Name. Interesting that you felt worse after the election in 2016! I think that one surprised me more but this time I felt much more despair. Either way, not cool.
Despair is never a good feeling. I think '16 hit me worse because I couldn't imagine someone like him could get elected (and he did actually get fewer votes, so my feeling was legit.) But this time I knew it could happen, although I was optimistic up until the very end. Sigh.
I had a surgery on Oct 30 this year which left me mostly inactive for about 2 weeks. Watching too much news just compounded my post surgery anxiety in the lead up to the election. And after the election, I had to shut off all new sources for a while and figure out what I was going to do to battle a certain sense of depression.
I care a lot about science (as you know) and I have always spent time trying to dig up scientific facts. Also, I study technology for my job and as a hobby. So, my answer to the election results was to start a substack!
I haven't worried so much about it so far, thinking perhaps it is just a passing phase, but here I am more than a month on, still posting. I've been calling it "Daily Tech and Science" (the abbreviation of which (DTS) is the same as the abbreviation of Donald Trump Sucks). Every day's post has a number associated with it (today's is 1494) which turns out to be the number of days until Inauguration Day, Jan 20, 2029.
So, yeah... That's the odd way in which I have been coping with the election results.
Here's the link if you are interested:
https://wonderquest.substack.com/
And, really, it is only occasionally political...
Happy Holidays, Louise!
Thanks for the reply! Sorry about your surgery and subsequent spiral. Yeah, watching a lot of news is not a good Rx for recovery. I get all my news from reading either print, digital print, or newsletters that are known sources. I find watching TV or even radio doesn't give me enough buffer. Congrats on the new outlet as well -- I've subscribed!
I'm so intrigued by Tangle. We were having a conversation in the Feminist Book Club community the other week about where we all get our news these days because the landscape has changed so drastically. I must admit, a lot of what I read at this point comes from the link roundups in the newsletters of the experts and journalists I admire most. I also recently started to follow Ground News, a platform that shares stories across the political spectrum, analyzing and comparing how they've been reported out. I'll have to have a look at this Tangle, too...
I had heard of Ground News and I think even downloaded the app one time, but I just couldn't get into it for whatever reason. I'm actually a pretty narrow bandwidth news person so I think it just became overwheming. That's why Tangle works for me -- just one topic a day. It seems maybe there is a grassroots movement of people looking for better ways to consume news. I hope so at least, as I think that would be a good thing.
Post-election perspective seems to be a theme among people I know and it's something I wrote about on my last Substack. I applaud you for taking that step back and realizing you can still enjoy life when things don't go the way we'd like. I'm simplifying, of course, but it's a healthier approach, IMO, than continuous outrage. And it's not to be confused with capitulation or disinterest. I've been reading Tangle since I heard about it on This American Life and agree it's a good newsletter for calm, neutral news delivery and allowing for more than one viewpoint to be expressed safely. Thanks for the book recs, too!
Yes! I remember resonating with your last newsletter. I liked how you said detachment isn't a lack of caring, but a separation of action from expectation, or of observation from emotional response. This is very much like meditation, as you mentioned. My Buddhist practice is one of the things that is driving this work I feel called to right now. I know intellectually that there is no Us and Them, but it's so easy to get trapped into that mindset. But it also doesn't mean you have to give up advocacy.