Surviving Trump World . . . Again

Like many other people, the morning of November 6, 2024 brought such an overwhelming mixture of negative emotions, I thought I must be having a nightmare in the daytime. How could it be possible that so many people willingly made the effort to go to a polling booth and consciously cast a vote for a human that tried to steal the last election, practices an obscene amount of hate, vitriol, lies, and threats, and is a convicted felon who has also been convicted of sexual assault charges? Not to mention, he has openly told the very people who voted for him they are dumb and not very intelligent. How is this my world? How did my country get here? And how is it possible my neighbors voted for this person?

Of course, I wanted to crawl under the covers and make it all go away. Some people wonder how it can hit me so hard. It hits me hard because I see women’s rights being taken away. I see book censorship at the same time the advocates are screaming for free speech and less “censorship” on social media. I see the truth being bent to the point it is no longer recognizable. All, while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. And Trump is not only an advocate for all these things, he will destroy those that don’t bend the knee and kiss the ring. It’s scary for sure!

But here we are, a mere hours before the formal inauguration of that man . . . again. I only wonder is Elon Musk will be holding the bible for him as he takes his oath.

It’s only been 3 months since that fateful announcement of his win and the chaos has been unleashed at a rate that makes my head spin. What’s the first thing we do when confronted with so much fear? We either retreat or we consume as much as possible. Unfortunately, consuming as much as possible is not the best thing for your mental health and it’s completely exhausting. That’s his plan. Just know that. His goal is to throw so much spaghetti at the wall that you don’t notice he’s actually stealing your wallet.

In times such as this, a strategy is paramount. I spent about five days after the election results were announced vascilating between sadness, anger, frustration, sorrow, and fear. I moved from making plans to leave the country to buying an off-grid property to preparing for WWIII. That’s what catastrophic thinking does for you. It takes you to the depths of hell and back again.

And then, one day, I realized it was time to take my power back. Who the F#$% does he think he’s dealing with? I’m not giving my power away willingly! You ain’t so bad (insert Rocky Balboa voice here)!

I know you don’t want to hear this but if you are still reading you know that playing Ostrich is not going to help anything. I’m not saying you have to march or storm the capital or anything but we have to start thinking of a plan. This won’t be a 4 year issue. If a billionaire can buy his way to the white house once, another (or the same one) billionaire can do the same thing. We have to take action.

But first, you have to take care of YOU. Maslow’s Hierarchy tells us we can’t think about the larger population until we feel safe and secure. And right now, there are too many people who wonder how they will pay the rent and buy groceries while we have our new president cutting taxes for the ultra rich and stating ” it’s hard to bring prices down once they go up”.

I don’t know about you but all I thought about for the first month was, “How can I protect myself and those I love from all the craziness?”

What did I do when I came up for air? The first thing I did was create a emergency preparedness bag. It may not have been the most logical thing to do but it made me feel good to focus on something positive. I want to be prepared if there is civil unrest, or *gasp* a war. I want to have a plan of what I’ll do in whatever event, where I’ll go, and who I’ll trust. And then I sent my daughter a comparable bag full of weapons, first aid, food supplies, water filters, solar chargers, and any other thing I could think of for Christmas. While I have nothing against doomsday prepping, I wouldn’t consider myself to be a “prepper.” I’m just very resilient and like having a plan.

The most important thing you can do right now is empower yourself and get out of fear. When we are drowning in fear, we make bad decisions. Quit thinking about what you can’t control and focus on what you can control. If you feel brave, leave a comment about it.

We are a strong and resilient nation. We know all about how to get busy and get shit done. Just remember that when you are feeling powerless.