Dealing with my Election Anxiety

[panAmerican]

Here is my approach to election anxiety. While Nov 4th may mark an important event in the history of the US and of the world, it is not the culmination of our movement. Republicans expect to lose and are already planning to regroup and rebuild. What are our plans to solidify our gains and make further progress if we win? It took a lot of work to get to this point. It will continue to require massive voter engagement afterward in order to create lasting change.

With respect to electing BHO, I have contributed a good deal of money and made some phone calls. Lately I haven't given money, but I've participated in real-life discussions with people, with the goal of opening their eyes to the machinations of the Bush administration. I had plans to do some canvassing this weekend in my very blue state, but instead I am spending this weekend and next week in the books to improve my knowledge base for a new job I will be starting the week after the elections.

This can't be an either/or proposition for me. EITHER spend all of my time between now and Nov 4th to do all I can for Obama, OR spend all my time getting ready for the new job. One way or another, Obama's life will go on after next Tuesday, and I have to ensure that mine does as well. I started looking for a job as soon as it was confirmed that my company faced dire problems, so I am grateful to God that my resume generated a lot of interested and that I got another job offer in a very, very short amount of time. But I can afford to take the time to make 25 calls for Obama this weekend, and talking to a few neighbors.

I was born in a country that had become tremendously unstable by the time my family left and immigrated to the US. As such, I'm under no illusions, politically speaking. I believe it is imperative to do the best you can to create the type of government you wish to have, but at the same time, do your best to immunize yourself against the powers that be.

My dad, in particular, has a lot of respect for the Republican ideal, because we came to this country under the Reagan administration. So I've spent time educating him about the chasm between those ideals, and real-life actions embraced by neocons. He, in turn, has influence over other people, and that's why I continue to work on him.

IMHO, you need to have a certain level of financial security, or ability to secure employment should your particular sector or industry go down the tubes. That entails having a certain depth of knowledge about your own field, but also enough general knowledge of something else at which you could eke out an existence, even if you won't thrive.

We have relatives and extended family in different countries and on different continents. That I think is a good thing in case the sh!t hits the fan in any particular location, and one wing of the family needs to sustain and help the others. This is what royalty/nobility does, too. They intermarry with elites of other countries or at least establish a pied-a-terre in other countries, so that there's always someplace else they could live in times of crisis. So relationships are an important part of having a stable life.

I totally believe in government playing a role in establishing basic rules of fairness so that people can advance, and improve their lot in life over time. Get involved in your local community, civically or otherwise, even if it's as basic a level as neighbor-to-neighbor. Make yourself useful to somebody! Being able to survive hard times requires a certain amount of doggedness. If you are born with a bit of ingenuity, that's all well and good, but you can also succeed with some perseverance.

This is what I see in Obama. While Geraldine Ferraro said he is lucky to be black and pundits are now saying the fight stopped being fair once Wall Street started melting down, you have got to recognize that Obama laid the groundwork for this emerging victory a long time ago. He invested his time in being a community organizer and helped other people, but he also took the time to go to law school to put himself as well as his constituents in a better position.

The antidote to fear is action. So do something - for Obama...and for yourself.