Autocrats control their subject populations through a combination of fear, isolation, disorientation and constant exhaustion. Some of us have been feeling these things for the past eight years, notwithstanding the (relatively) normal intervening Biden-Harris administration. The assaults on our rights—voting rights, freedom of speech (in the form of book bans and school curriculum mandates), and the basic human rights of women, LGBTQ and immigrants shifted to the state and local levels, continuing the anti-democratic and anti-human rights agenda of the previous administration. We do not suffer to the degree that folks in Palestine or Ukraine who are under the siege of actual war. Nonetheless, we are experiencing a lesser (and more insidious) form of constant threat.
For most of us, our material lives have been subject to a slow degradation over the past several decades. We are working harder for less, which has made many of us exhausted and demoralized. The bonds of civic engagement and social solidarity have been frayed. Many of us have become either more paranoid or stingier. Many young people have lost hope for a better future. At the same time, we witness other folks who are waking up to the evils of white supremacy and patriarchy, viewing the triumphalist story of our national origins in the light of a new truth. We are seeing a resurgence in labor organizing, as working people employed by corporate behemoths like Amazon and Starbucks assert their fundamental human rights.
These times of acute turmoil have resulted in a form of collective mental illness. Trump is not the cause, but the consequence. Yet, Trump has also aggravated this phenomenon, operating as a trigger for collective paranoia, delusion, rage and cultism. Even those of us who can see through Trump’s BS can sometimes feel like our mental state is unraveling. For a better explanation of this, a good place to check out is the World Mental Health Coalition, the group of psychiatrists (including Dr. Bandy Lee) behind The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump and Trump Contagion. Yes, this is a mental illness that spreads like any other contagious disease.
For those who might find the complex psychosocial theories (as fascinating as they are) to be too abstract, Daniel Hunter provides us a more practical list. If we are going to have the energy, fortitude and discernment to survive the next Trump presidency, it will be necessary to protect our own mental health. Hunter has made a career of training movement activists around the globe (racial minorities, climate change and pro-democracy groups) in nonviolent resistance strategies. A version of his list of ten tips appeared in the January issue of Sojourners and is also available from The Commons library.
The bold headlines below are from Hunter’s article, Now That Trump Has Won: 10 Ways to Ground Ourselves for What Comes Next. The (un-bold) commentary is my own.
#1 Trust Yourself
We are living in a time of intense distrust, paranoia and polarization. As we see more of the mainstream media capitulate to Trump (see #6), we may find ourselves without a source of reliable information. Some will choose to forego media altogether—or strictly limit media consumption. If this is what you need to do to maintain your sanity, then do so. I plan to do some limiting, but also seek out small, independent sources (which may see a resurgence). For national and international news, reasonably reliable sources are the UK-based The Guardian (leans liberal) and The Economist (leans conservative). Adfontes Media produces (with regular updates) an interactive chart that rates most mainstream sources for both bias and accuracy, so you want to choose sources that are near the top and center. The site will also rate individual articles from a specific source. Al Jazeera actually comes out pretty good, with many articles falling near the top and center, although with a left-leaning bias.
#2 Find Others Who You Trust
I am fortunate to belong to a faith community that maintains active hunger and homelessness ministries in the community and—like many Christian communities—is opposed to Christian nationalism. If you live in a MAGA area and/or your family is MAGA, this may be harder for you to do. However, it is important that you not become isolated, as this is how authoritarians gain power. Find some group to join, even if it is a non-political shared hobby, recreation or exercise activity. It may take some time to get to know your new friends enough to trust them.
#3 Grieve
It is fundamental to psychic healing to actively acknowledge and grieve what we have lost. This may range from loss of relationships with friends and family, to loss of faith in the permanency of our democracy. I participate in prayer vigils every January 6th and have argued for a national day of remembrance and public lamentation (like we do on September 11th). Which of course will go nowhere if the new fascist regime re-writes history so that the coup-plotters and terrorists are re-framed as “heroes.” Which creates yet another source of grief around the loss of truth and a shared reality. The purpose of grieving is to acknowledge and release the loss, so we don’t spend the next four years in a daze of “I can’t believe this is happening” numbness, shock and confusion.
#4 Release that Which You Cannot Change
I remember participating in marches for the Equal Rights Amendment in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and here we are, almost fifty years later and we still don’t have equal rights. In the 1960s, massive marches and protests (civil rights, Stonewall) seemed to have some power to change things, even if it was only by focusing public attention. Today, massive protests don’t seem to have the same effect. Not sure if this is because most of us are too distracted from the busyness of survival or the media “flash coverage” of something before they are on to the next story in a 24/7 “breaking news” environment (i.e., collective attention deficit).
For us as a practical matter, it means making realistic decisions about what you can and cannot do. We cannot react to every evil that a Trump regime is going to throw at us without becoming exhausted and demoralized—which is not good for our mental health. Decide on one or two issues (e.g. democracy at the national level and hunger at the local level) that you can commit to being active, which activities you are willing to do (e.g., organizing community education forums or letter-writing) and what you are going to let go of.
#5 Find Your Path
This correlates with #4. Something that I have noticed in our Justice activities is that our energies are scattered across a wide variety of issues: hunger, homelessness, climate change, white supremacy and Christian nationalism, democracy and voting rights, LGBTQ rights, economic and workplace justice…you get it, the list could go on. Hunter suggests four broad categories: Protect people (immigrants, LGBTQ and pregnant women); defend civic institutions; disrupt and disobey (this will likely involve personal risk); and build alternatives. As this last suggestion seems to be the most productive and positive, Sis and I are planning to get more involved in local food production and processing after she retires in August. Our church already is sponsoring an active group of immigrant small farmers and a small-scale African eggplant processing industry.
#6 Do NOT Obey in Advance or Self-Censor
Most of us have probably heard this message from other sources, as it is a lesson gleaned from previous authoritarian and fascist regimes. It is interesting to see how quickly the mainstream media, the corporatocracy, and individual oligarchs have capitulated, perhaps fearing the loss of the wealth and power that constitutes their identity. So, it is up to us—the little people—to stand up to autocrats. The privileged are (perhaps not surprisingly) without either backbone or balls. “The meek shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5) rings as true today as it did millennia ago.
#7 Reorient Your Political Map
Hunter relates a meeting he had with retired generals and other Republican officials as they discussed ways to prevent Trump from invoking the Insurrection Act. As a long-time anti-war activist, Hunter says he could never have imagined himself in a strategy session with military leaders. However, challenging times can make for “strange bedfellows,” and we should not succumb to the temptation to maintain ideological purity. Think that some of this has already happened between the members of the House Committee to investigate January 6th. Trump is going to cause a lot of suffering, and some of it is going to roll down on Trumper white men. Which may provide an opening for dialogue.
#8 Get Real About Power
Hunter reminds us that Trump, like Hitler, Stalin or any other autocratic tyrant, cannot execute all his malevolent plans without assistance. Hunter recommends a form of “mass noncooperation” rather than more direct civil disobedience (that could result in one becoming a target). This mirrors some of the strategies in the (now declassified) Simple Sabotage Field Manual. The “Manual” was published by the OSS (the agency precursor to the CIA) and was circulated among OSS officers in Nazi-occupied Europe as a means to train citizens on non-confrontational acts of sabotage. The manual includes a litany of MacGyver-style sabotage using simple, everyday items, to deliberate slowdowns justified by the claim that you are being careful, avoiding errors, etc. The goal here is to thwart the agenda.
More passive noncooperation can take the form of boycotts. I am not a user of social media, but I have heard that folks are abandoning X (formerly Twitter) in droves, leaving the platform to trolls, bullies and bots. Refusing to buy anything from anywhere is also practically helpful to the austerity and precarity that a Trump regime is sure to bring. If you cannot bear the idea of giving up your daily Starbucks, you can still make a statement: when your friendly barista asks what name you would like on your cup, you can tell her “Union,” or “Solidarity.”
#9 Handle Fear, Make Violence Rebound
This suggestion is reminiscent of tactics used by the followers of Ghandi in the Indian struggle for independence, when wave after wave submitted to beatings from British police as they attempted to take over salt production from the imperial monopoly. We saw a similar thing here in the US, when unarmed civil rights marchers submitted to police beatings. This requires a certain amount of pre-event mental preparation to steel oneself against undeserved abuse and physical pain. Of course, in order for such a strategy to work, you must ensure that your event will be broadcast to a very large audience. The theory here is that the presentation of fearlessness deprives autocratic bullies of an opportunity to spread fear, in addition to highlighting the injustice.
Another thing to consider is not to let the MAGA minions see your pain. It is OK to express emotions like pain, grief and anxiety among those you trust, but Trumpers are almost by definition without empathy. Indeed, since their purported “policy” goals are little more than wreaking havoc and “owning the libs,” we should deny them the satisfaction of believing that they are one-up on us.
#10 Envision a Positive Future
This may be the most difficult thing to do. We are facing the existential threats of the potential end of American democracy and the rule of law, climate change, and the real possibility of another pandemic under incompetent and malignant leadership. But holding some vision of a better future will be necessary both for our own mental health and for finding a path forward.
More great resources—including an interactive “pick your own path” tool and other training is available at whatiftrumpwins.org
