Everybody I run into is so excited about being in election season!
Not.
We’ve only just begun, and the weariness and dread is palpable. In the United States, this is the most important election in our lifetime. Pay no mind that this is said every four years; maybe they’re right this time?
Of course, the issues at stake matter, but is there any way to make a difference without being sucked into the division and negativity that’s become so prevalent?
As a professional reminder-er, allow me to share some insights that you probably already know, but are easy to forget when emotions run hot. Knowing about something is not the same as doing it, so if we can go beyond nodding our heads in agreement to putting these ideas into practice, perhaps we can not only survive election season but make our world better as well.
TURN OFF THE NEWS
You know this one. “Staying informed” does not require injecting yourself with poison every day for months on end. No form of news these days is meant to inform you. (I’m not sure if it ever was?) I don’t care from which side you get your news, or whether you watch it on TV, read it in the paper, or scan it on social media. It is designed to provoke and enrage you, which in turn boosts clicks, ratings, and revenue. There may be observable facts sprinkled in, but they are mostly there to get you to buy the whole enchilada of propaganda. It doesn’t take much time to get up to speed on where the candidates stand. I recommend sampling the narrative from both sides of the political aisle to get a perspective that more closely resembles the truth. Most of all, pay attention to what you’re paying attention to.
TURN ON NATURE
Despite turning off the news, the blaring headlines and angry rancor can be hard to escape. The noise can make our blood boil and heighten anxiety. Nothing serves as a better antidote than a good old-fashioned walk in the park, a stroll through a garden, or some time on a beach. Nature is undefeated when it comes to providing a sense of calm and giving us proper perspective. Might I suggest this as a helpful guide?
NOT EVERY DISAGREEMENT NEEDS TO BE A BATTLE TO THE DEATH
There used to be a time when people could disagree about the best way to make the country better without accusing one another of being evil incarnate. It can be helpful to remind ourselves of an important truth: ultimately, we all want the same thing. I’m excluding the politicians, pundits, and anyone else who profits in power or money from the outcome (and outrage) in an election season. I’m talking about everyday citizens: your friends, family, and neighbors. We all want a safe place for our family to live, opportunities for everyone to succeed, and a hopeful future for our children and grandchildren. And if you don’t believe the ordinary person believes that — even the ones on the opposite side of the aisle as you — then the propaganda really has you under its spell. Of course, the best way HOW to achieve these ends we all want is up for debate, but starting from this first principle can help us move forward productively.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
Helplessness often accompanies the never-ending alerts of the existential crises facing our country and world. Being aware of a problem you can do nothing to fix is what drives anxiety and causes depression. After all, what can one person do?
Obviously, you can vote. No fair complaining about the state of things if you didn’t at least do that.
You can also pray. Pray for our election systems and volunteers, for the candidates, and for the greater good to prevail.
Here’s the hardest thing: bite your tongue. We cannot decry the level of discourse we’ve descended to when we ourselves are posting things on social media that question the sanity, intelligence level, and morality of people who disagree with us. You can control what you contribute to the conversation. Resist the urge to try becoming the first person on the face of the earth to convince someone to change their mind thanks to a few sentences you posted online while sipping a latte. No one is going to send you flowers for the rest of their life on the anniversary of the day you shared an argument they’d never heard before cleverly worded in a way that changed their life.
It’s possible to have civil debates, in person, where there is an organic interchange of ideas and the chance to clarify intent and meaning during which, sometimes, minds are swayed.
This does not happen on Facebook.
DO SOMETHING USEFUL
Every politician, both local and national, will spend time describing all that’s wrong with things and propose that they are the ones to solve all the problems. Hogwash. The unheralded people helping high school dropouts get their GED, volunteers serving meals at a homeless shelter, the ones donating blood, mentoring at-risk youth, or bringing hope and healing to prisoners are the ones actually making our world better. You don’t need a million dollars or a thousand volunteers. You just need to start. Be the change you wish to see in the world by making the world a little better for one person.
Now I’m gonna guess that as you read through this, you were nodding along, saying to yourself, “Yep. Yep. Right on.”Like I said, reminders.
Simple things, really. Stuff we all know.
But the doing it? That’s the hard part.