Dem
47
GOP
53
Here is the question we put before readers last week:
C.W. in Carlsbad, CA, asks: How should people prepare for the incoming administration?
And here some of the answers we got in response:
R.B. in Cleveland, OH: Live locally. Invest your time and energy in your community. Join groups like the friends of the library or a community garden. Run for office with your city council or school board. Check on your neighbors and take care of your family.
Many aspire to save the world, but could have a far greater impact if they just took care of the neighborhood.
S.S. in West Hollywood, CA: My advice on how to prepare for the incoming administration:
- Donate: I am increasing my donations to organizations that support trans and immigrant/refugee communities. Every good progressive already donates to the ACLU and People for the American Way (as they should). However, most people don't support trans and immigrant/refugee specific charities unless they are directly connected to those communities. These are the people who need our support now more than ever! And not just a one-time donation, but continuing support throughout the next four years. (Note: Wikipedia has a good list good list of trans charities to choose from.)
- Pick Your Battles/Pace Yourself: This is the calm before the storm. Find some peace in it. We're going to have 4 years of losing our sh** over the most reprehensible and inconceivable things. I need to choose my battles and pace myself, or I'll be burnt out in no time. Long ago I stopped fighting with MAGA on Facebook and in my own family. If they are still in the Trump cult, there is nothing I can say or do now that is going to change that. My time and energy is better spent elsewhere, and it will be.
- Passport: When I was growing up, my Rabbi used to say, "Always have a passport. You never know when political climates change and you need to leave a country quickly." It's good advice. I have never not had a passport (even if most of my traveling has been from watching The Amazing Race). If you don't have one, get it now! The process can take months and it could be impossible to get later if the Trump administration becomes anything close to the authoritarian regime we fear it will be. (Remember to renew. Some countries will not honor a passport if it expires in less than a year.)
Good luck, everybody. I hope we survive the experience.
J.E. in San Jose, CA: Investments? Inflation hedges.
Food with a long shelf life, in case the FDA stops caring about safety. (And if this is an overreaction, you can always donate it.)
Get or renew your passport now, even if it isn't about to expire.
If you have a pre-existing condition and use the marketplace, start looking for a job that provides healthcare before everyone else does, in case the job market gets worse.
C.S. in Linville, NC: Plant a garden. Fruit trees, berry bushes, and berry cane asparagus are perennials and feed you season after season. Garlic is easy!
Know thy local farmer. Join a community garden. Put some herbs in a pot in your window sill. Any step of in that direction helps.
As sh** looks like it's getting closer and closer to the proverbial fan, I look for ways to grow more of my own food.
M.M. in San Diego, CA: Buy an introductory book about the practice of Zen Buddhism. You don't need to convert; however, you will get excellent advice on regulating internal agitation and will learn how to keep everything in perspective. Very calming and doesn't require a doctor's prescription.
D.A. in Brooklyn, NY: I have students who are endangered by the racist deportation policies that the new administration is threatening, or who have family members who are. Just the existence of the threat creates an anxiety that interferes with the educational process. As an educator I feel duty-bound to work with pro-immigrant, anti-deportation groups and to make plans for impeding ICE and the INS actions wherever possible. That includes ensuring non-cooperation between my university's offices and the Feds.
S.D. in Anchorage, AK: I'm considering going vegetarian since I'm not optimistic about food safety regulations being maintained or enforced, and eliminating meat seems like an easy way to protect myself from contamination. I'm also planning to start a small veggie garden to have a little more control over my food supply.
Also, just in case yet another pandemic strikes (I'm worried about bird flu and can't tell if I'm just being paranoid), I suggest stocking up on (K)N95 masks. I bought a fixer-upper of a house in late 2019, and I picked up some N95 masks a couple hours after closing to protect myself from dust and possibly mold while removing the carpet. The remaining masks were EXTREMELY helpful just a few months later.
People who can get pregnant but do not want to should consider a semi-permanent to permanent solution (IUD, arm implant, tubal ligation) and buy some Plan B, and people who can get others pregnant but plan to never do so should consider a vasectomy.
S.E. in New York City, NY: Thinking about Trump's threats to the independent press, we should do what we can to support news organizations that do investigative reporting and fact checking. Buy a subscription, give gift subscriptions; if you read online, click on the columns of writers who oppose Trump; click on ads, share articles on other media.
A.A. in Branchport, NY: You can prepare for a tidal wave, forest fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, etc. There's no possible way to prepare for what the next administration will do, except in very broad strokes.
That said, I've been a huge consumer of political content for over 60 years. No longer. I've only a few years left, and the sad reality is that I have absolutely no influence on things that will impact me and my wife in my remaining years. It's a huge waste of my time to remain plugged in. SO, my prep involves the following:
- I've canceled ALL of my MSM media and replaced it with Al Jazeera, The Guardian and Politico (with reservations). This limits my exposure to the constant nonstop drumbeat in American MSM of Trump's latest antics and his domination of the current news cycle. I find this greatly enhances my mental health.
- Likewise, TV has been severely cut back. Current events is now almost nonexistent in my life. I'm currently re-watching Battlestar Galactica, and find comfort in the ongoing moral, "This has all happened before, and it will happen again." Certainly, there's historical precedent for the establishment, rise, and inevitable fall of empires. It is now simply our turn to fall. It's just a crying shame that our time was so short.
- I'm rereading Moby-Dick, Melville's take on revenge that is somehow relevant in the middle of the 21st century. It's much more enjoyable when I'm not required to read it. A slow reading also reveals some absolute gems, for example: "Ignorance is the parent of Fear," which is as appropriate now as it was in 1850. I plan on reading more books on the futility of revenge, with Dumas high on the list.
My attitude now is that today, as bad as it is, is the best day of the rest of my life. Tomorrow will be worse, the day after, too. THESE ARE THE GOOD OLD DAYS! So I follow my German Shepherd's lead and try to live in the moment.
At 73, and in reasonably good health, in previous times I could expect a natural death. That's no longer my expectation. I'm absolutely certain that Trump's policies will have a nasty and completely unexpected effect on my demise. And if Trump doesn't get me, some unexpected effect of global warming certainly will.
Meanwhile, the snow is beautiful, I have been blessed with a loving wife and a truly great dog, and I intend to focus on them rather than dwell on an uncertain future.
Best wishes to all!
P.B. in Chicago, IL: Expect prices to go up and for some items, go up a lot! I am planning to buy a car in January (used, but still those prices will go up when new car prices rise a lot). If things are imported from China, stock up now. Electronics will probably go up a lot in price, so get that new laptop or TV now.
As a side note, if a lot of people buy stuff by the end of January and then stop after that, the economy will look good for the Biden administration and bad for the Trump administration.
B.H. in Southborough, MA: Crawl under a desk. And preferably, that desk is in another country—I suggest somewhere in Europe.
J.B. in Hutto, TX: How to prepare for the Trump administration? I say the important thing is not to be disillusioned and to keep singing the song of America. MAGA patriotism is phony and plastic, so ours must be genuine and real. Watch films and shows that exemplify the best of our country: how about Apollo 13, or HBO miniseries like John Adams or Band of Brothers, or any of the outstanding Ken Burns documentaries on PBS? The same goes for what books to read: think Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer, Plain Honest Men by Richard Beeman, or the Taylor Branch trilogy on the civil rights movement. Celebrate national holidays with gusto, visit national battlefields and national historical sites, thank veterans for their service, cheer on American athletes at international sporting events, and stop talking about wanting to move out of the country. A scoundrel will be the head-of-state for the next 4 years and that's to be regretted. But it doesn't mean we should turn our back on America and its ideals.
And regularly quote the Founding Fathers, for, as Sam Adams once said, "If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
A.G. in Scranton, PA: Eat a plate of broken glass and rat poison—just to have something fun to look back on.
P.D.N. in Boardman, OH: Take the long view. Nothing is forever. Tune out. Put your own mental and emotional health first. It's going to be the same sh**, just a different day, so accept that. Find your own quiet space and head for the hills in your imagination. Admit that your political passion was idolatrous. That's what I had to do. "Put not your faith in princes," as the Bible says. Care for our country but don't care overmuch. Let your care be proportional to what you can actually do. Pray for God to deliver us from this plague. Do what you can to contribute to its downfall but don't overdo it if it makes you stressed out. Let some other leaders emerge. As far as I know, evil is always self-defeating. Trust in that. Pray life tastes like sh** in Trump's mouth every day. So rejoice and be glad.
T.S. in Monmouth, IL: Pray!
Here is the question for next week:
H.M. in San Dimas, CA, asks: I love presidential biographies and have read several. It's easy to find biographies for presidents from FDR to present, but before that it gets a bit harder, unless it's someone like Abraham Lincoln, of course. So... recommendations?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Hail to the Chiefs"!