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I was perusing the internet this morning and among the first few articles that caught my attention there were two that gave me some guarded feelings of optimism. Still, I am scared. How scared am I? There's one English idiom that some may consider vulgar but it describes better than any I can think of: I am almost, but not quite literally
The first article was:
Will Trump try to end democracy? Yes — but these scholars claim he can't pull it off
The second article was:
Like millions of Americans I am almost, but not quite literally, scared shitless. Consider this video:
"Adding together what may become of the United States under Trump and what may happen in Israel there aren't words to describe the horror"
The evocative phase "scared shitless" comes close as long as it isn't used casually and you think of the times you had really bad diarrhea.
The two articles I cite address different situations but both offer an optimistic take. The first suggests that even if Trump wins democracy is not doomed. It explains how it may survive despite Trump and his MAGA minions attempts to dismantle and destroy it. The second, by former Trump lawyer Ty Cobb (one of the well known political mustache men), explains that if Trump loses the election he is likely to fail in his legal efforts to overturn the results.
People handle the possiblity of impending doom differently. Some engage in denial and avoidance. They just manage to turn off bad thoughts. They don't follow the news and try not to associate with people who want to talk about it.
With the exception of thrill seeking junkies like sky divers and bungee jumpers most people don't seek out anxiety. Some avoid anything that provides it and other develop mechanisms to deal with things that trigger it.
Others are like me. While I let myself dwell on worse case scenarios I manage not to become overwhelmed by my fears. I think that no matter what happens poltically I and both those I love and other like-minded people will survive. If the worst comes to pass I will do what I can to fight the good fight. I will give emotional support to my friends. I will participate in the protests described in the first article. I will write my blogs. I will donate to pro-democracy causes.
In the meantime, when my anxiety provoking thoughts threaten to overwhelm me I am able to distract myself and put them out of my mind and I do and think about pleasant things.
Unfortunately others through no fault of their own can't strike this balance or have a lot of trouble doing this. They feel swamped by worry and anxiety. Sometimes this is to the point that it effects them physically and their health is jeopardized. Insomnia, eating too much or too little, overdoing alcohol or drugs, experiencing debilitating depression or anxiety are examples of what can happen. To get back to how I began this blog, they can literally have digestive problems.
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