I too live in a sea of red. I thank God that my parents and sister are enlightened, as well as the majority of my family. But we still live in MAGA country.
I actually feel OK. After 2016, the depravity of humans no longer shocks me. I will help my family and like-minded friends, but will close my purse to Republicans.
Honestly, we need Republican voters to suffer terribly over the next few years. We need them to starve and scrap for a living. We need Republican Hispanic voters to watch others like themselves be deported (and maybe some of them as well). We need Republican women to suffer when they get pregnant and are denied health care due to draconian abortion laws. We need to see manufacturing jobs to close and many of these MAGA men to roam the streets in search of work. We need to have more and more storms hit the nation at red states while their ability to pay insurance dwindle. We need less "Help Wanted" signs and more "Will work for food" signs.
Let our lights shine for those who need it, but let's use it only for those who have not actively sought to strengthen the darkness. I think it is obvious now that it does no good to help them. We must harden our hearts and walk away when they come begging for change. We cannot afford to use our light to strengthen them just so they can continue their campaign to destroy us. We need to let them bring themselves to the lowest point of human misery in the spiritual sense, and remind them that it was their choice to chose Trump in the first place.
By the way, look out for March 2025 and the summers of 2025 and 2026. I don't know why, but those dates are important somehow. Call it a hunch, but something will likely happen that will shake things up. Anyone have any idea what it can be?
“The Stoics classified a range of thing sincluding wealth, health, and reputation as a ‘preferred indifferent’ — meaning it’s preferable to have them but you shoudl essenitally be indifferent as to whether you’ve got them or not. That means not clinging to things or falling apart if you lose them. Instead, your character is the most important thing. ARe you behaving well or badly? Are youc ultifvating the things that the Stoics called ‘the virtues’: justice, moderation, wisdom and courage? Are you relaxed? Is your inner self tranquil? Do you treat others well? Are you able to control your anger? These things wer emore important than the accumulation of repuation and capital. They are even more important than your health.”
I never knew much about the Stoics but that paragraph describes the way I generally roll, at least until my equilibrium is totally pushed over the edge, like it is now.
I try to be kind to people, and I make modest charity donations.
But I am for sure going to do as @earthangel and review my charitable donations list.
I can only change me. I can choose to act ... rather than react. I can choose to love... even when love is lacking . That? Is my way forward.
Thank you for reminding me that love is the way forward.
We could contact our individual states and demand that Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare be provided by our individual states.
If they wish to control other forms of healthcare and leave it up to the states, it may be a great idea to push for a safety net at the state level now.
Require all employers doing business in the state to provide health insurance.
My favorite book (so far) is one called Reasons not to Worry. I just finished it two weeks before the election. (Irony!). Going back into my Kindle today here are some relevant quotes I pulled out.
You and I must be on the same book vibration lately! I just finished this book a month ago and loved it. Stoicism is a path forward.
@allyn Fortunately, I don’t live there anymore. Moved out at 19 then moved back when I met my husband who’s from Maine but worked locally. I now live in a country called New England ;-) and esp on the Outer Cape, we’re mostly Dems and progressives. I am blessed and grateful.
I visited there this summer (mostly Massachusetts). It was glorious and free from the Trump memorabilia that disturbs my soul. You are so blessed. Nevertheless, I plan to hold the fort here. There is a case I am keeping an eye on. It involves the abortion law in Tennessee. Recently, the judge's dismissed the State's motion to dismiss the case, and granted a partial injunction in favor of some of the women involved. It was a small victory, but an important one. The main trial will likely occur in the next two years.
We could contact our individual states and demand that Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare be provided by our individual states.
If they wish to control other forms of healthcare and leave it up to the states, it may be a great idea to push for a safety net at the state level now.
There are many predictions about this time period specifically (@jeanne-mayell had initially attributed them to the Trump years but I wonder if it more references NOW which changes the math a little on the napkin of pgoress) about how people turned away from the federal government to do more things locally. You could very well be onto something here. Blue states tend to be more socially conscious but as things at the federal level get rougher in the coming months, progress might also be made in red states as, (as many of you have pointed out already), the hardships come home to roost.