Election Day Tips

Election day. A cold rain is coming down in the early morning dark here in central Massachusetts. In a few hours, I’m going to vote: carefully and in person. I’m going to vote in the election that both sides are calling the most important Presidential election of our time. Certainly the choice of candidates is stark and many of us are anxious both about the process and the results.

Relentless media coverage will continue through the day, will amp up around seven or eight and will carry on through the night. There are a few key states, like Florida, that will have early returns so there may be some early indication of final results, but votes will continue to be collected, counted and verified over a period of days and weeks. We will not know who won the popular vote for some time.

I fully expect Donald Trump, if he is ahead at any point in the count this evening, to declare victory and to do everything in his power to stop the further counting of votes. We all need to brace for this likelihood as well as for his other specious claims and insults. We all must do everything in our power to ensure that any illegal actions he encourages or orders through his tweets and rants remain just the final howls of a defeated strong-man. I hope that true Republicans at every level will join with the rest of us in defending the values of our democracy rather than bowing down to the outrageous demands of a want-to-be dictator who refuses any truth, however blatant, that does not give him what he wants.

We’re in for difficult times ahead.

I’m hoping for the best—a landslide victory for Joe Biden, a Democratic Senate and a relatively peaceful transfer of power. But I have also located a few socially distanced local gatherings on Wednesday to support the ongoing vote count and democratic process. I have also talked to most of my pandemic ‘bubble-mates’ about my intentions, as every exposure risk I take is a risk for each person in my bubble. (If you’re looking for actions in your area ChooseDemocracy.us is a reliable site that is providing resources to support organizing around nonviolent proactive measures to ensure our democratic processes are honored.)

In the meantime, there are a lot of minutes and hours—and probably days, weeks and even months of uncertainty ahead. How do we live in a world where our future feels so precarious? How do we live with a level of fear and potential violence that is utterly unfamiliar for many of us? And all this in the midst of a pandemic that not only is continuing but is rising with no end in sight?

A few tips that may help:
1) Take time to shrink your field of attention. Staying current and informed are important, but the daily acts of living are equally important. Detach yourself from your news device and turn to the immediate world around you—the running water that comes out of your faucet, the smell of coffee brewing, the way the morning light slowly illuminates the view from the window, the sensation of the breath that has so faithfully sustained your life all these years. Just this.

2) Appreciate the people in your life. (Even the difficult ones.) Whether you live alone or with others, we all have people in our lives that are actually part of who we are. Take time to notice and appreciate those people, near and far. There is no such thing and an ‘individual’ human being. We are all (even you) part of an intricate network of relationships of mutual nourishment as we rub up against each other, irritate and delight each other—both in person and afar. (As I write this, I am aware that even my dead father is still a part of my life–still sustaining and troubling me.)

3) Give yourself to what you are doing in the moment. We often suppose that the meaning of our life is somewhere else. But life only happens in this place where we are. Don’t hold back and wait for things to settle down. I don’t think that is going to happen, and even if it does, you might not be here to enjoy it. The precious gift of life is happening right where you are, don’t miss it.

4) Stay informed, but limit your intake of news. Constant consumption will serve the interests of media moguls who measure success in eyeballs on the screen, but will not serve you or your country. When you do watch, appreciate being entertained, informed, outraged, contradicted and confirmed. Media consumption at a time like this is a roller coaster guaranteed to stimulate and disturb you. When you do turn it on, prepare yourself for the ride and have an exit strategy in mind.

5) Consider that this is the time you were born for. All your life has led up to this point and you have the resources and skills to make a difference right here. You may not yet know what it is you are called to do. It may be much smaller or much larger than you had ever imagined. But your thoughts, words and actions have impact beyond what you can know. Stay awake to the possibilities and opportunities of this turbulent time.