Resisting the Trump Slump
Resisting the Trump Slump
Thoughts on history of oppression, resistance, and finding joy
I wonder if Trump
Slump will wind up as an official disorder in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual. I think I'm beginning to show full blown symptoms. I
have never felt so scared and outraged and sad about the world on such a
global scale and feel this within my body.
Growing up, we had family friends who survived the Holocaust and I knew intimately what living under the stress
of tyranny did to people's psyches and hopes and spirits and hearts. I
knew people whose bodies were not just tattooed with numbers but also
mangled and disfigured by Nazis. This was not long ago. Most of these
people are still alive.
In spite of all this brokenness and despair, I am determined to find joy—and joy in resistance—wherever I can. So I'm challenging myself and others to use social media to share things that embody beauty and goodness.
For starters, I saw a car parked at the grocery store with bumper stickers that resonate with my core values and walked back to my car to get paper and a pen, and I left the person a note of gratitude.
My core values? I believe in the arts. I believe in the power of nature. I believe in ending violence against women. I believe in Mother Earth and the planet. I believe in the power of feminism and the joy that feminism has brought to my life and so many others' lives—whether they want to call themselves feminists or not. I believe in climate change. I believe in evolution. I believe in freedom of the press. I believe in the media as a cornerstone of our democracy. I believe in women owning and controlling their own bodies ... no exceptions, not some of the time, ALL of the time. I believe in the power of ideas and the pursuit of real knowledge. I believe in cultural exchange. I believe in public education, both as a student who attended public schools and a professor in them. I believe in the complete separation of church and state. I believe in ending every form of oppression that harms and reduces the humanity in all of us both when we are on the side of the oppressor and the side of the oppressed—and yes, even when oppressing others, the oppressor is not fully human. I believe in everything that Trump does not.
I also believe in joy and hope and humor and fun and laughter. When I think back to presidents and candidates whom I respect, I recall that they brought some joy and levity and even music and rhythm to the dark hours. I remember Bill Clinton playing the saxophone, and I remember the Fleetwood Mac "Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow" song blaring, and I remember Obama choosing the Bruce Springsteen song, "The Rising" when he picked Joe Biden. When Trump generates laughter, it's at the expense of other people and never to collectively generate joy. That was most evident in his inaugural address which was incredibly dark and depressing and isolationist. How was it possible that he never acknowledged that he was standing on the shoulders of giants and it was not all about him or all about America first? Unlike leaders before him—both Democrat and Republican—there is no sense of collective hope and sense of future that he embodies—as is further evident in his "I Did it My Way" choice.
Resistance is present because violence and oppression are unwanted. Resistance starts with the knowledge that something better and more hopeful is within grasp and worth striving for.
Source: Deborah J. Cohan
In spite of all this brokenness and despair, I am determined to find joy—and joy in resistance—wherever I can. So I'm challenging myself and others to use social media to share things that embody beauty and goodness.
For starters, I saw a car parked at the grocery store with bumper stickers that resonate with my core values and walked back to my car to get paper and a pen, and I left the person a note of gratitude.
My core values? I believe in the arts. I believe in the power of nature. I believe in ending violence against women. I believe in Mother Earth and the planet. I believe in the power of feminism and the joy that feminism has brought to my life and so many others' lives—whether they want to call themselves feminists or not. I believe in climate change. I believe in evolution. I believe in freedom of the press. I believe in the media as a cornerstone of our democracy. I believe in women owning and controlling their own bodies ... no exceptions, not some of the time, ALL of the time. I believe in the power of ideas and the pursuit of real knowledge. I believe in cultural exchange. I believe in public education, both as a student who attended public schools and a professor in them. I believe in the complete separation of church and state. I believe in ending every form of oppression that harms and reduces the humanity in all of us both when we are on the side of the oppressor and the side of the oppressed—and yes, even when oppressing others, the oppressor is not fully human. I believe in everything that Trump does not.
I also believe in joy and hope and humor and fun and laughter. When I think back to presidents and candidates whom I respect, I recall that they brought some joy and levity and even music and rhythm to the dark hours. I remember Bill Clinton playing the saxophone, and I remember the Fleetwood Mac "Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow" song blaring, and I remember Obama choosing the Bruce Springsteen song, "The Rising" when he picked Joe Biden. When Trump generates laughter, it's at the expense of other people and never to collectively generate joy. That was most evident in his inaugural address which was incredibly dark and depressing and isolationist. How was it possible that he never acknowledged that he was standing on the shoulders of giants and it was not all about him or all about America first? Unlike leaders before him—both Democrat and Republican—there is no sense of collective hope and sense of future that he embodies—as is further evident in his "I Did it My Way" choice.
Resistance is present because violence and oppression are unwanted. Resistance starts with the knowledge that something better and more hopeful is within grasp and worth striving for.
