Politics as a spiritual practice

I don’t normally post about politics here, but I feel I have to today, because a lot of people are distressed, shocked, and fearful. Even though the results of yesterday’s US election are not yet fully in, it’s clear that Donald Trump will be our next president.

I did not know what to expect with the US election. I thought it was possible that Trump might scrape to a narrow victory. I hoped, though, that Harris would would win, narrowly or (I scarcely dared dream it) by a landslide. I feared that if Harris did win, that the election would be disputed and that some Republican-controlled states might attempt to overturn the election results.

I had not expected Trump to win resoundingly, with a majority of the votes. (In 2016 Hillary Clinton got five million more votes than he did.) I think we’re fortunate that the election was not disputed, and that there was no attempt to overturn the vote.

At the moment I feel quite calm. My poor partner did not sleep a wink.

I am for once grateful that in the US system the victor does not take power immediately (unlike in the UK where the Prime Minister moves out of Downing Street the day after the election). So there’s a sense of normality at present. That won’t last, though.

It’s impossible to know what’s coming. Trump himself is just one part of things. He’s vindictive, petty, vain, and impulsive. He’s easily manipulated by those around him. Last time he was in office he was surrounded by people who, although not saints, were at least better than he was. With one exception, every one of those people has repudiated him and said he’s unfit for office. Two of them described him as a fascist. He’s now likely to be surrounded by people who are much worse than he is. It’s likely they’ll encourage his worst instincts and that we’ll see some very bad things happening.

Normally you prepare to ride out four difficult years until the next election. This time we’re facing potentially catastrophic demolition of the mechanisms that preserve democracy, a collapsed economy, the partial restoration of the Soviet Union, and an acceleration of climate change.

There may not be another totally free and fair election for a long time, and even if decent people are elected in the future, what they inherit may not be fixable. But they’ll have to do what they can with what’s left. It’s possible that there may be a re-founding of the United States, if there is a United States in the future. A catastrophic collapse gives the opportunity to learn from the past and to avoid its mistakes. The US constitution and its laws have been manifestly “unfit for purpose” as they say in the UK. The fact that Donald Trump is heading for the White House rather than prison is just one illustration of that.

I find it important to remember that many of those who voted for Trump did not know what they were voting for. Many are struggling in an economy that favors the ultra-rich and largely ignores ordinary people. They wanted a change. Right wing channel news networks manipulate and dis-inform. They think inflation is at an all-time high when it’s not. They think crime is rampant, when it’s falling. They think their way of life is under threat from immigrants, when they are themselves the children of immigrants and depend on immigrants to do basic tasks that keep the economy running.

Many of those people did not know they were voting for a man who says he wants his generals to be like Hitler’s generals, and that he wants to use the US military against the civilian population. Or they’d heard this and thought it was propaganda. Or they thought it was just Trump trolling the libs. But many of the people working for Trump do not think it’s just Trump trolling. Some of them want violent oppression of all opposition.

Some people showed up to vote yesterday not knowing that Biden had dropped out of the race. A study showed that a mild Covid infection reduces a person’s IQ by three points. A more severe case with lingering symptoms causes a six-point drop. If hospitalization is required, the drop is nine points. That’s from a single infection. Presumably repeated infections cause further cognitive damage.

The population has literally been been dumbed down. I say this not as an insult (I’ve had Covid and an not immune to its cognitive effects). I say this because it may well be part of how we got to where we are.

In short, many people who voted for a man who has been called a “fascist” by people who worked closely with him have no idea what they’ve just done. They are not our enemy, and they deserve our compassion. (Others are enemies in the sense that they want to harm us, but we need not hate them in return. It’s a myth that you can’t oppose someone without also hating them.)

I find it important to remember that there are many people in the US (and elsewhere, of course) who believe in kindness, generosity, tolerance, compassion, democracy, standing up to autocrats, and protecting the world that sustains us. That’s much more than half of the population.

We are the majority.

I find it important to remember that fascist regimes (and it looks like that’s what we’ll end up with) always collapse. The “strong man” is emotionally fragile and cannot stand contradiction. So he doesn’t listen to critics on his own side, and his actions eventually bring things crashing down.

It’s likely that there will be a series of brutal moves following the transfer of power. These will be designed to intimidate, demoralize, and traumatize anyone who opposes the Trump administration.

We’re going to need to find ways to hold onto our faith when this happens.

We’re going to need to find ways to sustain that faith, and to sustain our kindness, compassion, tolerance, and belief in democracy for much longer than four years.

The best way to do that is to be actively involved in some organization that represents your values. Being engaged with like-minded people helps us feel strong. Doing something that makes a difference helps us feel strong.

I suggest we all start looking for ways to get involved, if we’re not already.

In the meantime, I highly recommend reading Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny.” Snyder is a history professor who studies autocracy. On Tyranny is a small book, easy to read, and simply written. It’s a guide-book to surviving fascism, and on keeping alive positive values through dark times.

I strongly suggest that you do NOT buy this book from Amazon, which is owned by a billionaire. People like Jeff Bezos have a lot to gain (in the short term) from an illiberal regime. (The day Bezos announced that the Washington Post would not endorse either candidate, he was reportedly in negotiations with Trump about the government using his rockets.) These people are not your friends. Don’t support them.

Instead, support a local book shop. Support ordinary people. Support your neighbors. Live your values.

If you don’t have a local bookshop or can’t get to one, try bookshop.org in the US, Hive in the UK, or look for some other independent outlet where you live.

If everything gets reduced to what’s most convenient (“one click purchasing”) you’re not living your values. The essence of ethics is doing things that are less convenient. It’s slightly harder in the short term. But it feels good in the long term.

We are the majority. It’s imperative that we stick together.

A couple of years ago I taught an online course called “Politics as a Spiritual Practice,” which is where the graphic above comes from. I do think it’s vital that we don’t just “do politics” but that we see our engagement with politics as a vehicle for developing patience, courage, compassion, and wisdom. The next four or more years are going to test us. Those tests can potentially make us better people. And we’re going to need better people to rebuild whatever we’re left with.