“Power Plant Day.” “Bridge Day.” Our president declared it via social media. He’s not someone I follow. I read the post only because it was in the news. It affected me in a bad way. Increased my heart rate, sped up my breathing. I wanted the bad feeling to go away.
So I interrupted a politically conservative friend by sending a Sunday night text. He knows I’m an independent. He calls me before presidential elections because he knows I’ll tell him who I’ll vote for. In this non-election moment, though, it was I who contacted him. I started my text by saying I had to vent.
I then wrote that some Republican senators must speak out against the president’s post. I left out that it was the president’s expletives and religious sarcasm that upset me, even more than his threat to destroy what Iran’s everyday people need. I added, otherwise I’d vote again for the Democrats. My buddy replied using the little context I gave.
My symptoms didn’t go away.
Now, days later, I realize I was wrong. Wrong for surprising my friend with anger triggered by someone else. I realize, too, that my political naivete was glaring. I thought back to college and a Political Science course. I was told the primary goal of politics is to get elected.
Understanding it that way, it’s smart for republican senators to keep quiet. Many reading this already know. The president’s support is what the senators need to get reelected, probably more than they need the support of the individuals who voted for them. What the senators are doing is they’re ignoring the president. At a minimum they’re ignoring his wording.
I’m ignoring him too, now. I stopped reading and streaming the news. On social media I’m skilled at avoiding politics. I told my wife that if something in the world happens–something I really need to know about–to let me know.
Ignoring is the only way I, and even some conservatives, can avoid more president-triggered anxiety.
Jim's Writing 