Normally, I’ve got little sympathy for Sarah Palin’s besotted followers. Ya follow a grifter, ya lose yer money. But reading their many grammatically challenged messages, it’s clear that these folks are really suffering today. Thus, in a spirit of bipartisanship and solidarity, I thought it would be nice if we’d hold their hands and walk them through the 7 Stages of Grief.
1. SHOCK & DENIAL
Typical reactions: No! It can’t be! I mean… I just sent in a donation yesterday! You've got to be freakin' KIDDING me! I bought 16 copies of the DVD for my family and friends and neighbors! I waited 4 hours in line in the sleet for her to sign my copy of her book. We drove all the way to the Iowa State Fair just to see if we could talk to her. She was our ONLY chance to beat Obama! I feel like we’ve been kicked in the gut. Oh, my God. What are we supposed to do now? Maybe this is all just part of the game. She says she’s not running, then people beg her to run. She’s still got time.
Shock & Denial may last for a few weeks. It’s how the brain protects itself from something too horrific to contemplate. Something like ObamaCare.
2. PAIN & GUILT
Typical reactions: If only we’d done what they did for Chris Christie – they had lots of people call up and beg him to run. It didn’t work on him, but Sarah loves that kind of thing. We let her down. We thought it was enough to make donations and try to find her on that bus tour. We should have done more to help her instead of thinking that she could do it all herself. It’s OUR fault that she wound up dropping out. Now it’s too late. I am such an idiot. If Obama wins, everyone will blame us. I won't be able to live with myself.
During the Pain & Guilt stage, it’s important to resist the temptation to drown your sorrows with alcohol or drugs. Only by allowing yourself to bear this crushing pain and guilt will you be able to move on to….
3. ANGER & BARGAINING
Typical reactions: This is so unfair!! Who does she think we are? We all thought for sure she would be running. She kept sending out those fundraising letters, even a few days ago! She totally used us!! What a chump I was – giving them my Visa card # so they could just take the money every month. I am soooo furious! We had this election in the palm of our hand, and that, that… lazy bitch just walks away like nothing happened, and she goes off to make millions on some freakin’ reality show? Seriously? You know what: I am D-O-N-E with politics. Don’t waste your time trying to tell me to vote for any of the rest of these clowns. Maybe if we all just don’t vote, they’ll realize not to screw with us. Yeah, that's it.
Getting through the Anger & Bargaining stage is rough, and you may find yourself contemplating some drastic measures. Give yourself time and space to think. You’re not the only person feeling angry. Maybe talking to a trusted friend would help, so that you can move out of this difficult stage and into…
4. DEPRESSION, REFLECTION, LONELINESS
Typical reactions: I can’t believe I’m the still this upset. Everyone else seems to be moving on and finding other candidates to support, but this whole ordeal has left me just sick - I mean physically S-I-C-K at the thought of politics. There’ll never be another Sarah. She was the only one who could have turned this country around. We were all so excited, getting to see her in person. I never missed her on Fox. It was like a light went out in my soul when I got the news. I can barely drag myself out of bed to turn on Fox now. I just don’t care. I just wish the election was over, no matter who wins. It’s all going to wind up the same way.
If you find your depressive symptoms are interfering with your daily life, you may want to see your physician, who can prescribe something to help you. If you’ve made it this far, the good news is that you are moving towards…
5. THE UPWARD TURN
Typical reactions: Today, I dropped off my copies of Sarah’s books and DVDs at the library book sale and scraped the bumper sticker off the truck. I stopped reading the blogs. Yeah, I get that people are still pissed off, but I’m thinking it’s time to move on. My neighbor asked me about going to a rally for a candidate for the school board, and I said I’d think about it. I went to the gym today and it felt good. I’ll see if I can stick with it. It’s better than watching Fox and being reminded every day about what might have been.
Realizing that you will survive your loss and taking action to make your life more fulfilling will prepare you to weather…
6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH
Typical reactions: I’m thinking of going to the Hermann Cain rally. I am done giving money to anyone, but he sounds like he has some good ideas. I might meet some more good people, and this time, we would have a real candidate who’s actually going to stay in the race. Maybe I could work on a local committee. We can’t just sit here hoping this election turns out right. There’s just too much at stake. Another 4 years of Obama is not an option.
Taking action in this phase will help you focus on the future, while still honoring the memory of your loved one. Hang in there, you’re almost at Stage 7…
7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE (not to be confused with "HOPE & CHANGE)
Typical reactions: I can see now why I got roped in to the whole Sarah thing. She was like me – just a regular Mom who was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. We all got caught up in the idea that someone like us, a regular person, was what it would take to clean up the mess in Washington. It really looked like she was serious, with the PAC, the book, the movie, the ads… Maybe we should have been more skeptical, but honestly, it was also a lot of fun. The people I met, some of them are still good friends. Do I wish I hadn’t donated all that money? Of course, especially now that I’ve lost my job and my medical insurance and the bank’s after us about the mortgage payments, but I did what I did at the time, and if there’s another Sarah someday, well, who knows?