The usually positive mood on campus is muted. Some of my students are very worried about the future; some have even shed tears and are feeling physically ill. It’s a lot to take in, and it’s good to take the full measure of these feelings and not minimize them. Be we can also walk through some of them for a bit of perspective.
Feeling like politics is hopeless? Like voting every four years doesn’t change anything? Remember that “politics” doesn’t equal voting. “Politics” covers a vast array of activities that certainly includes voting but is not restricted to it. You can keep doing politics, every day, at various levels of intervention. You don’t have to wait for elections to have a shot at a better world. You can get to work on your own workplace, school, neighborhood, city, province and country while progressive people in the United States do the same.
Feeling frustrated and angry with the everyday folks who swept Trump to power? Using words like “rednecks” to describe them even? Remember the capacity that common people have for political analysis and political invention. Remember their capacity for political genius, which has emerged in rare historical moments. Remember that it can be clouded and mobilized against its own interests by powerful people and the media. By all means hold Trump's supporter's accountable. But don’t give up on the poor.
Feeling like some people are now in a more precarious position on account of their race, their gender, their immigration status, their sexual orientation? Well let’s hope you’re wrong, though you’re probably right. Work to understand who’s vulnerable and why; take that seriously; listen to them and learn from them as to how you can help.
Feeling smug? That it can’t happen here? That Canadians are politically more cultured than our neighbours? Remember that Trump’s brand of negativity has its representatives in our own country. Remember Brexit, and the rightward lurch of European politics. Remember that whatever advantages we have over our neighbors can be lost, so they should be fought for and advanced.
Feeling happy, buoyed by the results? Then I beg to disagree with you and I invite you to enter the discussion in public ethics to challenge your point of view.
