The basis of this article is what we CAN do instead of the OMG, how will we ever live through the next four years? We have a lot of power IF we are willing to commit to using it.
The current political climate is made up of Oligarchs. These are the wealthiest men in our country and the world. All that really matters to these people is praise from others and more money. If you want to hurt an Oligarch, take away those two things.
We have to be willing to be uncomfortable, to change our spending habits, have a little less convenience, and actually talk to people who may be very difficult to talk to. We can’t just complain without taking action. Well, I guess you can complain but really, what’s the point? Let’s get busy folks! We’ve got work to do! Here are 5 actions you can take today to get started.
1. Get off Twitter, X or Whatever it’s Called This Week
There are so many reasons to get off Twitter, X or the site formerly known as Twitter (Prince reference here). Let me provide just a few reasons.
First and foremost, it’s owned by Elon Musk. Elon makes money based on how many accounts are on his platform. Advertisers decide to give him money based on how many accounts there are. People pay for tiered access. By contributing and being part of the X community, you are giving the man with the most money in the world, even more money. And this means you are giving him more power.
The next reason you should get off of X is it’s a cesspool of lies and misinformation. It’s another form of chaos, a way to distract you from what’s really important. Before long, you will be saying “I don’t know what to believe” because your ability to discern truth will become muddled and confusing. It’s like watching a reality TV show and thinking it’s real.
For maximum impact, don’t just quit using it – actually delete your profile. Might I suggest Bluesky?
2. Get off Facebook and Instagram
Facebook/Instagram is owned by Mark Zuckerberg. Mark appears to be going through a bit of a mid-life crisis but that’s beside the point. He has recently kissed the ring and donated a $1 million dollars to the inauguration of President Trump. He’s also decided to fire all his fact-checkers and allow Facebook to become yet another tool full of lies, deception, and communication between people seeking to hate, kill, overturn elections, etc. all over the world.
The thing to realize here is both Zuckerberg and Musk and Bezos (I’ll get to him soon) are controlling the very truth of our country. They are controlling the narrative of the information we receive and it’s largely false. All you have to do as evidence of this is take a look at the communication on both of those platforms regarding the fires in California. It is predominately false and hateful. All they have to do is elevate false information by retweeting or modifying the algorithm and nobody really knows what the truth is.
How does FB make money? Advertising. The more people on the platform, the more advertisers are willing to spend. The way to impact this is to delete your profile.
I know this is hard. You share pictures with family and friends here. And you share status updates with people you haven’t had a conversation with in 20 years. You may even use it to buy and sell stuff. I didn’t say this would be easy. Nothing worth having generally is easy. Here’s a few alternatives for you.
Send photos via text or another application (ex: Snapchat, Flickr, BeReal). Have actual conversations with people instead of updating your FB status.
3. Talk to Your Neighbors
This can be challenging, especially if your neighbors are “them.” Here’s the thing, before we became “left” and “right,” we were humans. We are all still humans. Take away all the professional and personal labels and we are still humans. By secluding ourselves and adding to the division, we aren’t helping anything. This is the time to listen, have empathy, and seek to understand. I know, I know, but they aren’t! Be the bigger person. You don’t have to believe in their choices to have a cup of coffee or meal together. There are so many other things to talk about other than the political climate and divisive issues.
When we build relationships, we are better able to see the humanity in others and eventually, they will see the same in us. We have to set the example.
I know this is exhausting. It’s almost traumatizing to have a conversation with someone that believes gun violence is not real or that a 10 year old rape victim should have to carry the child. I’ve found that when you can develop relationships, each side feels safer to become curious. And when we are open minded enough to be curious, we are able to shift our thinking and hear alternative views. Who knows, maybe you will even change your view on something in the process?
4. Shop Local and Small
It’s time to start building communities again and supporting your small businesses. Big business is creating these oligarchs. Every time you order something on Amazon, you are putting even more money into Jeff Bezos’ pocket. Every time you pick Wal-Mart over Joe’s Appliance Store, you make the rich richer.
It can be inconvenient and costly to shop small. Small business owners do not have the benefit of buying large sums of product at a discount. And having to drive to the store is so last year when I can order online and have it delivered to my door.
You don’t have to rip the band-aide off all at once. Instead of getting everything on Amazon, make a concerted effort to get out in your community to find your product elsewhere once a week. Visit a local restaurant (not a chain), go your local hardware or specialty store. We need to interact with humans more anyway so use this as an opportunity to go out “in the wild” to find your products every now and then.
5. Take Care of Your Mental Health
These are such challenging times! It’s scary, disruptive, and the natural reaction is fight, flight, or freeze. We want to either jump ship, become an advocate and march, or stick our head in the sand and hope it all goes away.
While these are normal reactions to scary times, it won’t be in our best interest to stay there too long. Find ways to keep sane. Don’t be distracted by the chaos. Resist the urge to binge watch the news. Half of what you will hear in the coming months will be irrelevant – created to provoke chaos. It’s an attempt at “Hey, look over here” so you don’t have time to notice the really important thing that is happening in the opposite direction. What people are “saying” doesn’t matter nearly as much as what people are “doing.” Trump is a master at keeping the media engaged with crazy ideas and word salads. Don’t get sucked in.
If you don’t meditate, now would be a good time to start.
Stay grateful for everything good in your life. It’s easy to fall into catastrophic thinking and that isn’t helpful. Every day, multiple times a day, find things to be thankful for – things that are going well in your life that have nothing to do with politics.
This will be a long fight and it’s important to be in “fighting shape” both mentally and physically. Take care of you first as you won’t be able to help others until you can help yourself.
Bonus: Get educated on the companies supporting Trump
We have the opportunity to “speak” with our money. Now is the time to do some research on what companies are supporting Trump and all his initiatives. Here’s a few thoughts to get you started.
Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos. Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post. In recent months he has influenced what can and can’t be published in the Post. You can count on the Post becoming more right leaning.
Elon Musk owns multiple companies and has an interest in even more. Tesla, X, Space X are his largest investments.
Bank of America, Uber, and OpenAI (ChatGPT) have all made significant contributions to the Trump Campaign and/or Inauguration. These are just a few. Check out these articles to learn more:
https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presidential-race/donald-trump/contributors?id=N00023864
Summary
I know, I know. I didn’t even mention write your congressman or get active in politics. First things first people. Take care of you, build a community, and quit financially supporting the oligarchs now running our country.
Surviving Trump World . . . Again 