I don’t normally post about politics here, but I feel I have to today, because a lot of people are distressed, shocked, and fearful. Even though the results of yesterday’s US election are not yet fully in, it’s clear that Donald Trump will be our next president.
I did not know what to expect with the US election. I thought it was possible that Trump might scrape to a narrow victory. I hoped, though, that Harris would would win, narrowly or (I scarcely dared dream it) by a landslide. I feared that if Harris did win, that the election would be disputed and that some Republican-controlled states might attempt to overturn the election results.
I had not expected Trump to win resoundingly, with a majority of the votes. [Later edit: not a majority! Slightly less than 50% of the votes cast.] (In 2016 Hillary Clinton got five million more votes than he did.) I think we’re fortunate that the election was not disputed, and that there was no attempt to overturn the vote.
At the moment I feel quite calm. My poor partner did not sleep a wink.
I am for once grateful that in the US system the victor does not take power immediately (unlike in the UK where the Prime Minister moves out of Downing Street the day after the election). So there’s a sense of normality at present. That won’t last, though.
It’s impossible to know what’s coming. Trump himself is just one part of things. He’s vindictive, petty, vain, and impulsive. He’s easily manipulated by those around him. Last time he was in office he was surrounded by people who, although not saints, were at least better than he was. With a small number of exceptions, those people have repudiated him and said he’s unfit for office. Two of them described him as a fascist. He’s now likely to be surrounded by people who are much worse than he is. It’s likely they’ll encourage his worst instincts and that we’ll see some very bad things happening.
Normally you prepare to ride out four difficult years until the next election. This time we’re facing potentially catastrophic demolition of the mechanisms that preserve democracy, a collapsed economy, the partial restoration of the Soviet Union, and an acceleration of climate change.
There may not be another totally free and fair election for a long time, and even if decent people are elected in the future, what they inherit may not be fixable. But they’ll have to do what they can with what’s left. It’s possible that there may be a re-founding of the United States, if there is a United States in the future. A catastrophic collapse gives the opportunity to learn from the past and to avoid its mistakes. The US constitution and its laws have been manifestly “unfit for purpose” as they say in the UK. The fact that Donald Trump is heading for the White House rather than prison is just one illustration of that.
I find it important to remember that many of those who voted for Trump did not know what they were voting for. Many are struggling in an economy that favors the ultra-rich and largely ignores ordinary people. They wanted a change. Right wing channel news networks manipulate and dis-inform. They think inflation is at an all-time high when it’s not. They think crime is rampant, when it’s falling. They think their way of life is under threat from immigrants, when they are themselves the children of immigrants and depend on immigrants to do basic tasks that keep the economy running.
Many of those people did not know they were voting for a man who says he wants his generals to be like Hitler’s generals, and that he wants to use the US military against the civilian population. Or they’d heard this and thought it was propaganda. Or they thought it was just Trump trolling the libs. But many of the people working for Trump do not think it’s just Trump trolling. Some of them want violent oppression of all opposition.
Some people showed up to vote yesterday not knowing that Biden had dropped out of the race. A study showed that a mild Covid infection reduces a person’s IQ by three points. A more severe case with lingering symptoms causes a six-point drop. If hospitalization is required, the drop is nine points. That’s from a single infection. Presumably repeated infections cause further cognitive damage.
The population has literally been been dumbed down. I say this not as an insult (I’ve had Covid and an not immune to its cognitive effects). I say this because it may well be part of how we got to where we are.
In short, many people who voted for a man who has been called a “fascist” by people who worked closely with him have no idea what they’ve just done. They are not our enemy, and they deserve our compassion. (Others are enemies in the sense that they want to harm us, but we need not hate them in return. It’s a myth that you can’t oppose someone without also hating them.)
I find it important to remember that there are many people in the US (and elsewhere, of course) who believe in kindness, generosity, tolerance, compassion, democracy, standing up to autocrats, and protecting the world that sustains us. That’s much more than half of the population.
We are the majority.
I find it important to remember that fascist regimes (and it looks like that’s what we’ll end up with) always collapse. The “strong man” is emotionally fragile and cannot stand contradiction. So he doesn’t listen to critics on his own side, and his actions eventually bring things crashing down.
It’s likely that there will be a series of brutal moves following the transfer of power. These will be designed to intimidate, demoralize, and traumatize anyone who opposes the Trump administration.
We’re going to need to find ways to hold onto our faith when this happens.
We’re going to need to find ways to sustain that faith, and to sustain our kindness, compassion, tolerance, and belief in democracy for much longer than four years.
The best way to do that is to be actively involved in some organization that represents your values. Being engaged with like-minded people helps us feel strong. Doing something that makes a difference helps us feel strong.
I suggest we all start looking for ways to get involved, if we’re not already.
In the meantime, I highly recommend reading Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny.” Snyder is a history professor who studies autocracy. On Tyranny is a small book, easy to read, and simply written. It’s a guide-book to surviving fascism, and on keeping alive positive values through dark times.
I strongly suggest that you do NOT buy this book from Amazon, which is owned by a billionaire. People like Jeff Bezos have a lot to gain (in the short term) from an illiberal regime. (The day Bezos announced that the Washington Post would not endorse either candidate, he was reportedly in negotiations with Trump about the government using his rockets.) These people are not your friends. Don’t support them.
Instead, support a local book shop. Support ordinary people. Support your neighbors. Live your values.
If you don’t have a local bookshop or can’t get to one, try bookshop.org in the US, Hive in the UK, or look for some other independent outlet where you live.
If everything gets reduced to what’s most convenient (“one click purchasing”) you’re not living your values. The essence of ethics is doing things that are less convenient. It’s slightly harder in the short term. But it feels good in the long term.
We are the majority. It’s imperative that we stick together.
A couple of years ago I taught an online course called “Politics as a Spiritual Practice,” which is where the graphic above comes from. I do think it’s vital that we don’t just “do politics” but that we see our engagement with politics as a vehicle for developing patience, courage, compassion, and wisdom. The next four or more years are going to test us. Those tests can potentially make us better people. And we’re going to need better people to rebuild whatever we’re left with.
11 Comments. Leave new
Hi,
Well, there are a lot of views there Bodhipaksa. Though we can have strong views, how do we root then in practice?
We know, impermanence is one of the Laksana, of course, the Dukkha and Non-self then we see also.
Challenging times, no doubt. Change, it seems. Masses of it.
A huge number of things seen possible currently. It’s it possible that America is experiencing such things due to a shift in economic strength around the world etc? We know this argument, could it be something that is actually happening?
It was said, wasn’t it, that the time of the Buddha was one of massive social change and dislocation, sounds similar?
Many, many things seem to be arising and falling currently.
Still wet have the Dharma.
Yes, there are views in this post, Adrian. If you think any of them are misguided, please let me who which and why, and I’ll gladly discuss or even debate them with you.
I hope everything I’ve said here is rooted in Dharma practice. Applying the lakshanas in a case like this tends to be a bit hand-wavy, I find. “Everything’s impermanent. Suffering happens.” Poof! Problem solved! We are issued our Dharmic “Get Out of Caring” card. (I’m not saying that this is what you’re doing, just that this is how certain Buddhists tend to use the lakshanas.)
They are helpful perspectives to bear in mind, though, aren’t they? Impermanence means that fascist regimes never last. Dukkha means that people end up with a yearning for freedom. Anatta means that the political complexion of the US is not fixed. All this allows for hope.
Hope needs to be expressed as action, or it’s just wishful thinking. Having compassion for those who are suffering is also necessary, otherwise our practice is just a way of escaping into a realm of personal peace. We need, as I said in the article, to have compassion also for those who were mislead into electing Trump. They know not what they did.
Those behind Trump are better prepared this time, and they’re likely to aim for “shock and awe.” One of them said the aim would be to “traumatize.” Come the end of January we’ll have a glimmer of how things might go.
I wish that all beings be safe and free, even though that won’t happen.
Hi Bodhipaksa,
I really like your reply to Adrian. You are such a clear thinker!
I think the economy, at least, may not be as bad as a lot of people fear. This is because Trump loves to be praised and admired, and so will want to see the major economic indicators improve – the stock market moving upwards, unemployment, inflation and the national debt moving downwards, etc. He will be embarrassed to see those things move on the wrong direction.
Hi, Cliff.
Of course I do not know that there will be an economic downturn under Trump, and I hope there won’t be. I’m sure you’re right that Trump would prefer to see things go well, economically. But that doesn’t mean he’s actually capable of achieving that.
Mny of the things he says he’s going to do will not be good for the economy. Elon Musk hopes to slash the size of government and expects the economy to crash. Suddenly making tens or hundreds of thousands of government workers unemployed would have a terrible knock-on effect.
Deporting 10 million undocumented migrants will remove half of the agricultural workers in the country and about a third of the construction workers. Neither of those things sounds like a recipe for boosting the economy. We already have a housing shortage, and it’s increasingly hard to become a first-time buyer. Any taxes those migrant workers pay will be lost revenue for the government.
The usual reply from his supporters is that American citizens will step in and do those jobs. To which I’d say, if you want to do intensive farm labor in 100ºF heat for minimum wage, feel free. If wages are to be raised in order to attract citizens to do these jobs, then food prices soar. (I did see someone saying that every American should be drafted to work on season in agriculture. I doubt forced labor is a solution to the loss of migrant workers.)
His plans for tariffs will push up prices for everyone. Trump seems to think that it’s foreign producers that would pay these tariffs, but the costs are paid by importers, and passed on to consumers. I keep hearing the figure of an extra $200 to $3000 in costs per family, but who knows if that’s accurate. People may simply not buy things, which won’t be good for retailers. Eventually US manufacturers might step up, which fits with Elon’s hope that the US economy will crater for a couple of years and then rebuild itself. But those would be a rough few years. (Also, it’ll be difficult for US manufacturers to sell abroad if other countries retaliate with their own tariffs, which they would. Trade wars are not necessarily fun.)
He can do these things and assume that they won’t affect the economy, but bar wishful thinking it’s hard to see how they wouldn’t.
If the economy does do better under Trump than under Biden, it would be a very unusual event, historically. “For the 13 presidents beginning with Truman, total job creation was about 70.5 million for the 7 Democratic presidents and 29.1 million for the 6 Republican presidents. The Democratic presidents were in office for a total of 429 months, with 164,000 jobs per month added on average, while the Republicans were in office for 475 months, with a 61,000 jobs added per month average.” [Source]
Anyway, fingers crossed!
Thanks for the long reply, Bodhipaksa!
I agree with you on everything – his tariff and immigration plans would surely be a disaster – but that’s why I suspect he won’t follow through with them, or if he does they will end up watered down and/or short lived.
I definitely agree with you about a lot of the seeming tyranny. I may well have a look at the book you suggest
Many thanks,
Much kindness.
It’s a very short book, and a must-read. After that, read Snyder’s “On Freedom.” It’s a much longer book, but very rich.
Good morning Bodhipaksa.
Hope you are well and thanks for your website, teachings and work.
However can you explain why a Trump government is a disaster when under Biden the has been increased warmongering and the overt support of genocide in Gaza?
Agreed, that Mr Trump is far from an ideal human being but none the less his previous term in office evidenced more of a will to conduct ‘deals’ than start was.
I’d be very interested on what your evidence is for your assertions and views.
Hi, Henry.
Thank you for your kind words. I’m doing okay, thanks, and I hope you are too.
You’re asking, in effect, how could a Trump presidency be a disaster when Biden has continued to supply arms to Israel as it kills large numbers of Palestinian civilians. I’m confused about what you’re trying to argue here, though. I assume what you’re trying to do is to create some kind of equivalency: Biden did a bad thing, so how can anyone say Trump will do bad things? But it’s true even if a leader does a bad thing, the leader that follows him can do far worse things.
Maybe that’s not what you meant, though. Since you’re focusing on Gaza as Biden’s “bad thing,” (and I agree it is) an obvious question is, will a Trump administration do better on Palestine? (Or do other bad things — more on that shortly.) He has said that he wants the killing to stop, but he rejects any notion of a ceasefire and sees the killing stopping as a result of a complete Israeli victory. “I will give Israel the support that it needs to win but I do want them to win fast.” So he’s not going to change the policy of arming Israel and supporting its invasion of Gaza. How does Trump see Israel “winning” more quickly? By stepping up the destruction and killing? I’m not seeing any other options. I understand that Biden is frustrated with Netanyahu and unable to rein him in. I don’t see Trump as trying to rein him in at all.
His cabinet picks and GOP politicians are taking an even harder line against Palestinian sovereignty and backing Israel to the hilt:
Mike Huckabee, his pick for ambassador to Israel: “There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
Lindsay Graham: “If you help the ICC, we’re going to crush your economy.”
Representative Mike Waltz (probable pick for national security adviser): “Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January.”
So if Palestine is your concern, then I’m not optimistic things are going to get much better. Yes, Israel will at some point declare victory, and because of the timing that’ll probably happen under Trump’s term in office, but a lot more Palestinians will have died by then and Gaza will be rubble.
Then there are the other bad things he might do.
My concerns about Trump are much more to do with his authoritarianism, his rejection of international alliances, the sheer ineptitude and lack of experience of his cabinet picks, and the likely effect of his policies on the US economy.
See my reply to Cliff for that last topic. I’m afraid I don’t have any more time to reply today, but if you’d like me to expand on any of the others then feel free.
Another book I recommend is “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present” by Ruth Ben-Ghiat. It is about modern authoritarian leaders and the tools they have used and continue to use to gain power. The author is a professor at NYU and has her own blog-spot.
Thanks. I’m a big fan of Ruth Ben-Ghiat and follow her blog.