What the Hell Can We Do?

Warning:  If you are a Trumpie or even an ordinary, well-intentioned Republican (is there such a thing anymore?) you may want to skip this piece.  It is fiercely in the opposing direction.  I am a ferocious Democrat, everyone in my family was rabid, including my Aunt Fritzi, my mother’s sister, who was the first female FCC commissioner, whose funeral Harry Truman attended. In college, decades ago I even veered towards Socialism.

My husband Tom and I have no friends or work colleagues who are Trumpies.  I’m sure we would know, even if they were silent about it, which I’m convinced they wouldn’t be.  We’ve never seen a MAGA hat or t-shirt on anybody in our Los Angeles universe.  Before the last election a house down the street had a big “Vote for Trump” sign in the front yard and people would stop, point and snicker.  Someone passing must have yelled or set their yard on fire or something like that, because the sign disappeared after a few weeks.

In our 18-unit condo building, there are four Tesla’s.  I can’t be sure of most of those neighbors’ political views, but one Democrat friend says he’s keeping his even though he despises Elon Musk, of course.  I don’t want to argue, but I relish reading about the fiery protests at his car lots, how his stock is tanking.  My good friend, Brenda, whose life is about social and political activism told me, deeply upset, that she’s tried to sell her 4-year old Tesla for which she paid $30,000 and can only get $2000 for it.

I am a news junkie, the result of my years as a journalist.  We get the New York Times delivered every day, watch MSNBC and CNN, read a million news reports online.  I know this is not good for my health or emotional stability.  Tom has pared his news life down to reading a few sentences online from trusted sources; I’ve started just reading the headline of a piece to get the gist and if it looks horrifying, I skip the rest.  If I see Trump’s orange face or hear his voice on the news, I walk away or shut it off. 

Like most of us I’m sure, I receive an endless array of emails, phone messages and texts daily, from Democratic sources.  They all start out asking for my responses to obvious questions , like “Do you approve of JD Vance”? or “Do you want us to win the Wisconsin election this week?”.  I check off the proper boxes, which then gallop speedily into pleas for money. When I trust who’s sending it, or am sympathetic to the candidate or cause, I’ll donate a bit, assuming they know that I’m not anywhere in the same universe as the Muskies. But my measly contribution makes me feel that I’m at least doing something.

I also call my Congressperson, or senators, leaving my brilliant message about the most recent news. (IS HE SERIOUS ABOUT RUNNING FOR A THIRD TERM?  WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?) Or I’ll email their websites, begging to know where are the Obamas and Clintons in the news?  I got Hillary’s email address from a mutual friend and sent her a polite but strong email about why I haven’t seen her all over the media in the last three months.  She hasn’t responded yet.

Most of my friends are tuning out politics completely.  My buddy Helene doesn’t read newspapers anymore, watches some of the Democratic shows, and listens to NPR – which of course Trump is talking about defunding along with PBS.  Arlene is committed to not being overwhelmed by events she can’t control, a practice she consciously puts in place every day.  “It’s not that I’m happy about what’s going on in the country, but this helps alleviate any anxiety.”

Of course there are the courts, the impressive number of protests and anti-Trump events happening all over the country. Those give a me some hope, a tidbit at least.  We watch about thirty minutes of Rachel Maddow each weekday night, when she usually shows all the marches, signs, oppositions and shouting from large cities and towns I’ve never heard of.  Then she diverts into the hideous news and we tune to the cooking channel for pork chop recipes.

But now the real question is what can we do, really? Seriously? Some ideas I’ve come across on the internet focus on:

• Listening to people on the other side with respect and civility; trying open-mindedness and patience.  Not easy, but perhaps possible if we try hard enough.

• Getting involved with grassroots organizations that are working to promote bipartisanship. How do you find out about those?

• Organize a Listening Circle. Perhaps a community dinner where structured conversations give everybody a chance to speak and listen.

•  Focus on any shared community worries, like healthcare, social security or education.

March, picket, call, text, write…

And, if you can at all afford it, sell your Tesla.  If not, boycott Trump family products and the companies that sell them.  Here’s a short list: Best Buy eyeglasses.com; Marshalls; TJ Maxx; Zappos.  Breaks my heart not to buy my shoes at Zappos anymore, but for heaven’s sake, I have to do something. Tell me what  you’re doing.

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Check out my website and blog for stories and more: www.marciaseligson.com

“Marcia Seligson is one of the funniest, most original, and irreverent people I know, and her book carries all those qualities. She can make anything funny, from a Peloton bike to a 40-hour brisket cookery. And she can be touching, deep, and bracingly honest. My advice to readers is make sure you have unbroken time ahead when you pick up this book. Each time I did, intending to read for ten minutes, an hour went by before I looked up. And I’d laughed out loud at least twice.” Sara Davidson, Writer NY Times bestseller Loose Change, Head writer for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman