The raver spawn does not fall far from the tree. I was not always that guy, but every once in a while I'd pull the glowsticks in your face stunt on a friend who was once again orbitting at the edge of the dance floor without jumping in to the middle of the vortex of flailing bodies and big smiles as a way to try to annoy them into getting their dance on. Mostly it had the opposite effect, so I stopped.
This basically sums up the Trump presidency, constant gas lighting until you've used up all your energy gritting your teeth take no action other than sharing your outrage to a group of people that already agree with you. That's what he's counting on.
That's why I'm not watching the debate. There are no nuances of position that I need clarified between the racist kleptocracy and the Democrats. We can't let the party that allowed nearly 200 thousand coronavirus deaths, sent federal forces to tear gas peaceful protestors, put immigrant children in cages and tore down every environmental regulation they could continue to tear down the government from the inside.
Instead of watching the debates, I've donated the max to Jaime Harrison's campaign to unseat Lindsey Graham. Latest polls show them neck and neck. We're going to need to take both the presidency and both houses of congress to undo the damage of the last four years.
I invite you to consider your approach to the news. Do you find yourself outraged daily? Have you taken no other action besides posting about your outrage? Does your outrage leave you drained and anxious and unable to sleep? Do you wake up tired and immediately look at your phone to confirm your anxiety is justified? I started out the Trump term the same way but stopped because I wasn't changing anything and it was taking a toll on my mental and physical health.
Instead, try this:
1. Turn off your news alerts. Pick a day of the week or a time of day, if you can't wait that long, that you'll engage with the news and leave it off otherwise. I check the news on Saturday mornings.
2. Don't post about politics unless it's to share a way you've taken action to change them. If this is hard, try donating a dollar along with each post you make about politics. Then you're taking action.
3. Choose an issue or candidate you care about and take action at least once a week on it. Posting doesn't count as action.
I'm taking action every Tuesday to stop police brutality and support the African American community. I find a group to donate to each week and match donations others make until the next week. Follow me at @casteel.andrew to see how you can help. You don't have to donate to make a difference. There are plenty of calls to make to officials, petitions to sign and volunteering to be done as well.
As we get closer to the election, I'll be choosing a race to take action on each Thursday on @casteel.andrew (a little late this week but we'll be back on schedule next week). Until then, I'll be matching donations to Jaime Harrison's campaign made by September 3rd at shorturl.at/bmnES (link in bio). If you sign up to volunteer for the Democrats at shorturl.at/uvCEU and post about it and tag me by September 3rd, I'll donate another $10 to help the Democrats. I signed up today as I wouldn't ask you to do anything I wouldn't do.
Until then, cultivate some awareness around what you put into your mind and what you put out into the world. We have more than enough awareness and outrage. We all know what side we're on. What we need is action. Take action and post about it to inspire others to take action as well. Stop doomscrolling and start doing something about it.
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