How do we live with a President who continually works against our rights, privileges, and good livin--a president who obstructs the potential and promise we hold as a modern, diverse, and rich nation?
Probably, not unlike many Americans, I've experienced Trumps in both my personal and professional life. I've lived with and worked with self-serving bully-like individuals who put their own ambition, needs, and desires ahead of anyone and everyone else. These people are suffocating. These people suffer too from childhood neglect and problems. Their troublesome, oppressive ways are expressions of their own instability, struggles, and need, yet these people don't belong in leadership positions. As leaders they create harm wherever they go.
How do you survive harmful individuals like this in your own life? How do you survive individuals like this when they are leaders in your community?
Find the balance
The daily drama, threats, and hatred troubled, self-serving, irresponsible individuals create can upset any sense of peace and good living in your life. You have to work against that by finding the balance. I remember that once when connected to an individual like this, I found places where we could connect positively--where we were actually able to empower each other, not bring each other down. As with heinous leaders like Trump, you have to do your part to vote him out of office and work against his self-serving actions and words, and then you have to put him aside and live your own good life. Trump is a negative time-suck in society--a man that steals the attention to the detriment of all of us. We can't let him do that. Most Americans successfully find the balance. They pay attention and have decided to vote him out of office--that's a step in the right direction.
Find the focus
When you desire change in a detrimental environment like the Trump presidency, you have to find your focus. What are you going to do to promote positive change? As an educator in a challenging environment, I chose a few areas of teaching that I could invest in, areas of teaching that I felt, in the end, made a positive impression on school programs and students. This was a good way to focus my attention during tough leadership times. At home, as a child, when living with an individual who struggled, my family members focused my time and attention elsewhere--that was good, in part, as I was focused on my life as a young women, but in hindsight, it would have been good if our whole family worked together to try to support each other and help the challenged individual in our home. It wasn't easy though, and I don't point blame at anyone--it was a complex, challenging situation.
Today, as I experience great frustration with Trump's irresponsibility and love of the limelight, I'll think about where I'll point my time and energy in this regard--I'll figure out what positive aim I'll work for and place my energy there.
Understand that it will never be perfect
Society, like individuals, will never be perfect. We'll always be working for betterment and change. We'll always be learning individually and collectively. To solve one problem doesn't mean another problem won't arise. Life is a series of problems and solutions, so rather than focus on simply voting Trump out of office, we have to focus on the ways to make a better country--the policies, laws, actions, and efforts that will reimagine our great country in ways that make us positive for each other and positive for the greater world. There is limitless opportunity to modernize and develop our policies, laws, institutions, mindsets, and efforts to make better. Everywhere I look I see potential for positive change. I hear story after story about people who are really making awesome changes, great and small, in their communities, work places, homes, and neighborhoods. It will never be perfect, but we can repeatedly point our lives and energy towards betterment, respect, care, and good living--that's a positive way to move.
Live a good life
Figure out how you'll live a good life. Figure out positive routines, investments, relationships and efforts that move you in a good direction for yourself and others. If we're all moving in that direction, we'll create a good world.
Yes, Trump continually takes us down. He's a human time-suck that wills attention in his direction all the time. We can't let him take over our good lives, ambitions, and directions--we have to lead him out of the White House and choose better leadership. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are he best next step at this time. Please vote them in.