What’s Next

Is there anything one can do?

For a few hours this morning I felt like a deer caught in some headlights: paralyzed, eyes wide open, blinded. My next reaction was the same I had eight years ago, when I learned that an immoral, incompetent narcissist became president of the United States: I wanted to run. Let me get out of here. I can’t stand it, I want to leave. 

I left Germany for similar reasons in 1970: I had been engaged in student demonstrations against the Vietnam War in Munich. Had participated in acts of civil disobedience, had protested police brutality, etc. I had learned that justice was never on our side, always only for “the others”. A friend of mine was arrested at a demonstration (as were many others) and  accused of rioting. When he had to appear in court, a police officer who was a witness testified that he THOUGHT my friend had thrown a rock that shattered a window. Based on this testimony my friend was sentenced to NINE months in prison. This wasn’t an isolated incident but happened a lot. Heck, I ended up in jail myself, but never for long.

So, I had enough and drove to India. I didn’t have a clear idea of where I wanted to go, all I knew was that I didn’t want to stay in Germany. The political climate felt oppressive, and a sense for  justice compelled me to fight for change. Once I learned that there was no justice for us, that my friends and I could be punished in a way which was completely disproportionate to what we had done, I simply wanted to leave.

When I finally ended up in San Francisco in 1977, everything wasn’t just rosy, either. People ended up in jail for smoking a joint, and, except for the Castro District, homophobic tendencies were never far below the surface. Then Reagan was elected and the AIDS/HIV epidemic spread. There would have been plenty of opportunities for an activist to protest and demonstrate, but I felt more like a guest; I wasn’t driven to try and change whatever I saw was wrong. I didn’t HAVE to get involved.

Unfortunately, this feeling of detachment didn't last. I bet the four years between 2016 and 2020 had something to do with it. We all remember how every day the news would grind you down. I wanted to start a class action suit against Trump for constant, incessant emotional abuse. But I didn’t run away, I didn’t move to Mexico or Canada. When I got my U.S. citizenship I gave up my German passport because I don’t care much for nationalities, plus, dual citizenship would have been expensive. However, if I really wanted to live in Europe again, I’m sure I could find a way. But no. I will NOT run away, give up, give in.

So, what do we do now? After licking our wounds a little? I have no idea yet. But I know what we have to fight for: 

• The climate crisis.

The first time around, Trump’s administration had rolled back 98 environmental rules and regulations, supported energy development on federal land, including gas and oil drilling in national forests and near national monuments and parks, and repealed the Clean Water Rule. He believes Global Warming is a hoax created by the Chinese government. This time, he is likely to dismantle the E.P.A., privatize NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), a government agency that has studied the weather, monitored the ocean and managed the protection of endangered species since 1970,   and discard the 2015 Paris agreement and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Fortunately, States have their own Departments of Environmental Protection. I don’t think the government can interfere too much there.

• The LGBTQ+ rights movement

Trans people in particular have already come under attack in several states, such as Texas and Oklahoma (I wrote about this in February). Trump and his religious zealots and minions vowed  to pass a federal ban on gender-affirming care for minors and to redefine gender at the federal level so that male and female (as assigned at birth) are the only recognized genders. We have to fight this tooth and nail!

• The right to terminate a pregnancy

Some women have already lost their lives because the doctors feared criminal prosecution if they would help somebody with a fetus inside of her belly. And remember the stories about young girls, maybe ten or twelve years old, who were raped and then had to go through the ordeal of finding a facility that would perform an abortion? This will get worse, but not every state interferes with women’s rights to determine what happens to their bodies. Maybe some underground railroad is needed. 

• Schools: 

Public schools may have to fear cuts in funding, education will be literally “whitewashed”, and opinionated parents will influence school boards about which books can be read and what history will be studied. The list of banned books will grow, also in libraries.

I could go on and on; I didn't even mention immigrants. What I mean is that we can find areas where we can try and do something to help. It is completely understandable to feel defeated right now, but let’s not be resigned. When you think about it, life isn’t really a horse race, where one is the winner and all others lose. So Trump “won” this presidency, aided by lots of brainwashing media, a few toxic and greedy billionaires, and (sadly) by the stupidity of millions of people. "Two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe". While it’s not sure whether Albert Einstein really said this, the meaning is correct, without a doubt. This, for me, is the saddest aspect of yesterday’s election results.