“We become distracted from productive labors by our perceived opponents; we become focused on them and not on our larger calling to advance our nation; our debate becomes more about scoring points against an adversary and less about advancing our common cause.”
- Cory Booker, United States Senator
In Part 1 of this short post-election series, we established that…
No matter how hard you work… your freedoms, your quality of life, and your children's future are all completely dictated by the Owner Class and their facilitators in Washington… It’s time for the Workers to become Owners.
Before we get into Part 2, we need to get clear about the stakes of the game we are playing.
The biggest existential threat to our way of life and the survival of humanity is global warming. If we lose sight of that, if we become distracted, we are literally giving up on our children’s future. And we are running out of time to take meaningful action on climate change.
There are other problems that we absolutely need to address, but this is the one that we dare not lose sight of.
Trump is a master of distraction.
He’s a pathological liar that says outrageous, awful, crass, racist and stupid things.
Every day.
Every hour of every day.
Social media influencers and the mainstream media feed on his every word like bloated carrion-flies eating excrement and regurgitating it for the rest of us to consume.
Stop consuming it.
It is all a distraction, and it's incredibly effective.
If Trump, his handlers and the media Distraction Machine have their way, you will spend the next four years screaming into your pillow and cry-eating ice cream out of frustration, while arguing with ding-dongs about gas stoves and green M&M’s.
We simply cannot afford to lose four years to distracted inaction.
Consider. There are things that you have power over and things that you don’t. Right now, Trump is announcing his picks for cabinet positions. In my opinion, it’s an absurd bunch of unqualified sycophants. But there is absolutely nothing that you or I can do about it and there is no point worrying about it, or honestly, even talking about it. Let alone spending hours listening to talking heads and influencers gabbing and gossiping about it.
Worry has never solved a problem yet. Nor has gossip and conjecture.
So unplug from this crazy Distraction Machine. Do not support billionaire owned news outlets that enable and amplify him. Don’t listen to the social media influencers that peddle in conspiracy theories and sensational nonsense in order to get clicks.
We have work to do and we have to stay focused.
Over the next few posts, I am going to outline what I believe our next steps must be.
Disconnect from the Distraction Machine, while still staying informed. (I'll let you in on how I personally do that. The last day I watched “the news” was the day of the election. I may never watch it again, yet I am fully up to date on the important stuff.)
Get on the same page. There are actions we can take and solutions that we can (and should) all agree on. (Getting on the same page means spreading the relevant information as far and as fast as we can.)
Form a small team, for accountability and support. Explore local grassroots options for community action. (I’ll tell you how I have formed teams, and ways to connect to grassroots organizations close to you.)
Narrow your focus to the one area or problem that inspires and moves you. The spot where you are willing to draw a line in the sand and go to work.
Yes there is a lot of work to do, but don’t get overwhelmed.
We’ll walk through it step by step together
Start by unplugging from the Distraction Machine. The Machine is intentional and orchestrated, and oh so effective. I think it’s more than likely that The Machine played a big part in the results of this election. (I’ll be making this case in Part 5: Equality of the book. Stay tuned.)
For my part, I intend to stop talking about Trump here on Substack, unless it’s absolutely necessary. I will instead focus all of my efforts on providing real solutions and connections to those who are actually doing the work that needs to be done.
J.
In Part 3 of Our Next Steps, we’ll talk about a free and easy way to stay informed, and what red-flag events to watch for and expect with this coming administration.
I’d like to congratulate you for your sanity. Keep it up.