Coping

In the Age of Trump, aren’t we all seeking coping mechanisms for dealing with Crazytown?  Buff Honey can’t watch any news shows, including the local news, which, in Florida is  regularly so nuts, it often turns up in a Carl Hiaasen novel.  Remember Razor Girl?

Merry Mansfield, the con artist protagonist in the novel, is based on Megan Barnes, who crashed her car on Florida’s Overseas Highway in March, 2010.  Megan instructed her ex-husband to take the wheel as she shaved her bikini zone.  Megan claimed she was on her way to meet her boyfriend in Key West.  Can’t make these things up.

I try to watch PBS Newshour but usually can’t get through an entire hour.  Sometimes, I watch MSNBC but every hour is basically the same news, same outrage, same result.  Overwhelming frustration.

I read.  A Lot.  Sometimes, I read two or three books a week.  My friend, Harriette, is one of the most prolific readers I’ve ever known, but, since Trump’s election, she can’t focus long enough to read a book.  Instead, she joined Liberal Ladies of the Lowcountry, based on Hilton Head Island.  What started seven years ago as four women meeting for monthly lunch discussions has now mushroomed to a couple hundred members.  There’s even a Liberal Men of the Lowcountry now.  This is happening in South Carolina….gives me hope.

I have read every single one of Louise Penny’s 13 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and can’t wait for the next installment in November.  I love these people….seriously, I want to live in that little village in southern Quebec on the Vermont border.  Not only is that a fantasy, but it’s way too cold for me.

Then there’s The Crazy Rich Asians trilogy which I devoured in two weeks.  Had to finish before the movie debuted.  The books are much more entertaining than the movie, but who can argue with being #1 three weeks in a row and grossing $117 million as of September 4th?  Its satirical slant on over the top wealth is perfect in the golden age of all things Trump.

Lately, I’ve been burying my nose in Beatriz Williams’ historical novels and Debbie Macomber’s latest bestseller, Cottage by the Sea.  Best memoir in a long time was Educated by Tara Westover….an amazing story of a young girl raised by a survivalist family not allowed to go to school who fought her way to earn a PhD from Cambridge University.  I will never complain about my own parents’ limitations after reading that….well, maybe not.

Where do I find hope?  Basically, in the rise of people who are running for office who would never have considered it before.  Before meaning before Trump and the Republican Party that is now the Trump Party.  Generally, these are decent, honest, well meaning, ethical people who have decided not to wait for someone to rise up.  It is up to them.  It is up to us.  It is time to rise up to greed.

Yes, I am a Liberal and a Progressive and I am tired of apologizing for my beliefs.  I am also fiscally conservative and believe in accountability.  I abhor the NRA but I am not hellbent on taking away responsible people’s guns.  However, why anyone would need a semiautomatic weapon is lost on me?  I do not apologize for being politically correct.  I remember all too well when my grandfather used the N word constantly.  I don’t find name calling or bullying appropriate ever.

The truth of the matter is I have voted for Republicans many times in my life, because I was voting for the person, not the party.  Now, it’s the party first above all other considerations.  Now, the Republican Party is the Trump Party.  As long as this is the case, I will never entertain voting for a Republican.  It is not the party of Lincoln and hasn’t been for decades.  It is also not the party of Reagan or of other moral men with conservative principles.

So, how do I cope?  Besides reading and playing bridge and going out to eat and listening to live southern rock and roll, I send money to people I believe in.  The best story I ever heard was from a Liberal Lady of the Lowcountry.  Every time her husband, disparaged a liberal politician, she sent the politician $1,000 of her husband’s money.  That’s my kind of justice!

My best coping mechanism, however, is binge watching The Office most nights.  BH had never seen it and there are many episodes I missed or don’t remember.  Laughter is the best medicine as we all know.  Are Jim and Pam ever going to get together?  How can Angela be swept off her feet by Dwight?  Will Angela ever smile?  Will Michael ever do the right thing?  What does Jan see in him?

As serious as things are in the world right now, find your laughter.