Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 11
by Rex Huppke
Almost a week out from Donald Trump’s commanding presidential victory, I have a suggestion for Democrats, anti-MAGA conservatives and others on my side of the fence: Tune out if you can. At least for now.
There’s nothing good to be seen or heard or read out there, trust me. Republicans are crowing, “Yay! We elected a convicted felon with authoritarian leanings!” – as is their right. Democrats are split between casting useless blame for Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss and doom-spinning how bad things might get under an unchecked President Trump.
DID YOU HEAR WHO HE MIGHT PICK FOR HIS CABINET?!?
WE COULD’VE WON IF WE HAD JUST (insert one thing that wouldn’t have actually made a difference)!
IT’S POSSIBLE MAGA WILL NEVER RELINQUISH CONTROL!!
Lord, it’s noisy. Deafening, really. The chaos and clatter of a ship of fools.
TRUMP WON’T BE IN CHARGE UNTIL LATE JANUARY. TAKE A MINUTE
It’s the early stages of November. Trump won’t take control of the country he has duped until late January. So we’ve got a couple months of sanity left, and I don’t see much use wasting it on preemptive fear and horrid hypotheticals.
Those most at risk, particularly immigrants and their family members, should of course be preparing. As should those who can help them, along with any advocates and organizations able to act as a defense against Trump’s plans.
When I say “tune out,” I mean set aside the day-by-day, minute-by-minute Trump-related gossip and mayhem-babble that dominates news networks and social media.
Those of us who opposed Trump have ample reason to expect the worst, but we don’t need to start envisioning it until he’s in position to commence the worsening. Doing so takes energy, of which I have little, and saps optimism, of which I have none.
WHAT WILL YOU GAIN FROM PAYING CONSTANT ATTENTION TO TRUMP RIGHT NOW?
Think of it this way. Does monitoring Trump’s day-to-day blah-blah between now and his inauguration get you anywhere? What do you expect to find, something worse than him putting legal migrants in an Ohio town in danger by falsely claiming they’re eating people’s dogs and cats?
Do you think he’ll do something more extreme than babble about a famous golfer’s penis or promise to put millions of immigrants in detention camps? Are you keeping track to see if he’s found liable for sexual assault AGAIN sometime before he takes the office of the presidency?
No, I think we’re all as up to date as we need to be on who and what the president-elect is, so enduring micro furies over this and that between now and Jan. 20 is about as productive as smacking a bruise to see if it still hurts.
TRUMP WILL BE OMNIPRESENT, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET SUCKED IN
Trump’s superpower is living rent-free in our heads, and he accomplishes that via a never-ending stream of scary/dumb comments and norm-eviscerating decisions.
It works well, but only if we pay attention, and trust me, I know how hard it is to not pay attention. It’s damn near impossible to look away, particularly given the real and profoundly bad things that may soon happen.
But if you’re willing to trust me just a bit more, I can promise you this: Paying attention to the noise and potential horror right now won’t change a thing.
Now, in the weeks before our American experiment is returned to the hands of a narcissistic boob, is a good time to ignore it all, to surround yourself with healthy thoughts and kind people. And yes, to prepare if this man’s presidency poses a direct and immediate threat to you or anyone you love.
CHOOSE NOT TO BOARD THIS SHIP OF FOOLS
But preparation doesn’t mean obsessing over the incremental narrative of Trump. Now is a time to let liberal politicians squawk and scare and conservative politicians prance and preen and give yourself permission to mute it all.
Because all of it – left, right and middle – is noise and foolishness.
In my head lately is the echo of these lyrics from the Grateful Dead: “Though I could not caution all, I still might warn a few/ Don’t lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools.”
Don’t lend a hand to the foolishness. Take a break.
You can prepare now. And you can tune back in when it matters.
That’s when the fight rightly and truly begins.
Author is a columnist, USA TODAY
