What Comes Next?

If you are anything like me, you woke up on Wednesday, November 6 with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. That is, assuming you slept at all Tuesday night after it became clear that Trump would win Pennsylvania and, likely, the other swing states and the election. That feeling hasn’t left me, but at least I was able to get a good night’s sleep last night.

It will take me time to get over the fact that fellow Americans have voted to put back into the highest office in this land a man who was twice impeached for high crimes during his first term, who was convicted and is awaiting sentencing for 34 felonies, who tried to overturn the results of the last election with lies, deceit and violence, and who has promised to be a dictator who will go after fellow citizens who disagree with him with U.S. troops.  I cursed what I perceived to be the stupidity of the American people who wanted such a person to lead this country. They got what they wanted; I, and millions who think the way I do, did not.

So, what comes next? Do we fight? Do we demonstrate? Do we declare fraud and try to change the result? A time to fight will come – perhaps sooner than any of us would like. But here is what I suggest for the short term – say, the next 30 days.

• Take a deep breath. Calm yourself. You probably have been on edge for weeks, months, maybe since the last election. Take a break from politics. Make plans to see a movie, a play or a musical;”
• Unplug from cable news – cable news pundits will speak ad nauseum about why this result happened. You don’t need to hear that. Buy and read a local paper. See what’s happening in your community. Follow your favorite sports team. Read and enjoy the comics;
• 
  Take some long walks. Clear your mind. See the beauty in the changing leaves. Breathe the crispness of the autumn air;
  
• Reconnect with friends and family – even those who voted for Trump. Don’t discuss politics – talk about the weather or sports or that new Tom Hanks movie, “Here”;
• Pick up a book – a fiction or fantasy – I started to read “Babel,” by R.F. Kuang.
• Lose yourself in some good music – “Blue,” by Joni Mitchell, The Band’s second, eponymous album, “2:00AM Paradise Café,” by Barry Manilow, or “The Carpenter” by The Avett Brothers
• Go to church, seek God, pray, meditate.
• Rest, recover, regain your strength. Eat healthy foods, drink plenty of water.

Then, thirty days from now, re-engage. Join with other like-minded patriots to fight for women’s rights, for voting rights, for defending our constitution and for keeping our democracy, and the America you voted for and will vote for again. And take heart. Trump is 78 years old. And when he takes the oath of office on January 20, 2025, he will be a lame duck, his term limited by our Constitution to 4 years.