I’ve seen this movie before

Yesterday was the election! It looks like Donald Trump is going to be our next president. The democrats lost.

As much as it pains me to write that, the simple truth is that it doesn’t help anyone or anything to be cynical, or to flip out, and it really doesn’t help anyone to doom-loop on terrible possible outcomes.

So, just to remind myself, here are some things I think are important, and worth fighting for:

• Human Rights
• Rule of Law
• Freedom of the Press
• Slowing Global Warming

Really, it all comes down to Human rights; I want to work hard(er) to ensure that others have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

To be clear, I do think that these things are under threat, and probably will be for the forseeable future. In particular, the Rule of Law and Freedom of the Press are “enabling technologies” for Human Rights; I believe that the United States of America continues to be at the forefront of a grand political experiment in how best to ensure the rights of all its citizens, and that the Rule of Law and Freedom of the Press are vital cornerstones of our system; without them, other things can crumble quickly, as we’ve seen in dictatorships all over the world.

So there, I also said “dictatorship”. I do not think that we are somehow magically immune from dictatorship, and I do think that we are constantly called upon to bolster our government and to oppose attempts to seize control. I don’t know what shape those attempts will take, but I hope that I have the strength to raise my voice against them when they do.

I realize that I haven’t said anything about Global Warming.

Okay, quick aside: can we go back to just saying “Global Warming”? The “Climate Change” phrase is no longer helping, I don’t think.

Anyhow, I do think that climate change is potentially the most destabilizing force to governments and people today, with the potential to kill millions of people (this is already beginning) and to cause wars and famine. I think the evidence for global warming is almost comically solid at this point, and we need to be doing much much more to slow it down.

To go back to the title: I’ve seen this movie before. It sucked. But I didn’t die[*]. I can get through this, and it does not help to panic, and being angry all the time is probably not a recipe for health, sanity, or forward progress. I’m going to try to do what I can, and stay calm. I pray for you and for your family. Take care of yourselves.

[*] Thousands of other people died, it’s true.