I was just talking with a client about her distress over the events at the Capitol and what may happen now. She lives in a small town in the midwest and she sees and hears a lot of upsetting rhetoric and was feeling deeply afraid.

We talked about the fear and what she could do to feel safe. Dwelling on the fear, putting that energy out into the world was not serving her or helping to protect her family. She knows some ways to manage her anger and realized she could use those same techniques with the fear she was feeling.

Our call has me thinking about the energy I’m generating with my doom-scrolling and schadenfreude as I watch the president’s influence diminish. There are millions of angry people out there who believe in a different reality from mine. We have a long way to go to be able to communicate with one another. I am not yet ready to offer forgiveness to the mob that stormed the Capitol, but I don’t want to be another person spewing hatred or cowering in fear.

A friend recently recommended Ezra Klein’s book, Why We’re Polarized and I got a copy. I’m hoping it will help me understand and maybe in a small way be part of the solution.

One Response

  1. Some things are not going to make sense. I remember when I lived in Morocco and rode the bus to the university where I was teaching. Starting in April, the weather heated up considerably and I wanted to open the windows in the sweltering bus. The students riding with me didn’t, since they believed that the breeze coming in through open windows made them sick. Walking outside didn’t make them sick, but the wind created by an open window would. Nothing I said made any difference. They were raised with a belief that sprang from some historic unknown and its power defied logic and science. Probably the only current solution is more votes to support issues that are important to most people AND stronger protections in the face of potential security events and attempts at voter suppression.

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