What Happens Next
A Plan for Resilience That Doesn’t Rely on Biden
I can still remember what spring 2020 felt like, and how I realized once and for all who matters in the US and who doesn’t. It was a belated realization, to be sure. Black people, Indigenous people, women, immigrants, and numerous groups of people with marginalized identities have known this for some time. But I felt something break inside me when my students’ families were denied internet access because of past-due bills. Then I watched militarized police brutalizing protestors in the streets shortly after we saw images of healthcare workers wearing garbage bags instead of PPE. Events like this helped me to understand the meaning of the words “We keep us safe” which I heard at protests with newfound clarity. Within the instability and anxiety of 2020, I learned a lot. That year we witnessed rent strikes and a resurgence of mutual aid efforts. We also saw a huge multiracial alliance of voters organize to stop Donald Trump from achieving a second term.
After the failed insurrection of January 6th, I briefly allowed myself to get a bit complacent. I felt angry and anxious when the Democrats failed to achieve electoral reforms that they promised in order to safeguard democracy. But as 2020 receded in my memory, I got sucked into the “normalcy” of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Like so many people watching the debate on June 27th, I experienced it as a horrifying wakeup call. But after initially wondering about whether and how Biden should be replaced, I took some somber relief in the fact that it doesn’t matter. Biden may remain the nominee and win. He may be replaced by a candidate who goes on to lose to Trump. All of the various scenarios are beyond my control.
No matter what happens, here are some things I’m certain of: right-wing authoritarianism will need to be defeated. Climate change will continue to bring about disasters. Change is coming regardless of who the Democratic nominee is, and I can’t really predict exactly what it will look like. So what I’m doing my best to focus on is building my resilience for uncertainty. And I’m doubling down on the skills I learned in 2020 which I let myself neglect somewhat.
Beyond the practicality of it, I am focusing my energy on relationships so I can be emotionally and psychologically resilient through an uncertain future. I need friends and loved ones who will strategize with me, make sense of big events with me, teach me new ideas and skills, and laugh and share meals with me. It’s impossible to predict what political, economic, or ecological crises are coming. But I know the fundamental building blocks of human connection won’t change and they can help me weather any storm.
My attention to relationships is not a withdrawal from politics or electoral organizing by the way. I still plan to do whatever I can to keep Donald Trump from becoming president. But I know that that is only one strategy among many. In the face of many unknowns, most, if not all of them out of my control, what I do know is I will need a strong community. So I’m going to spend less energy worrying about Joe Biden and more time investing in the relationships that matter most.
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