It’s All Good, It Really Is, On Wednesday Morning

Political Crossfire

It’s All Good, It Really Is, On Wednesday Morning

BY A DIEHARD TRUMP SUPPORTER

Like sixty million Americans, I wake up this morning filled with anxiety.

Hmm, that’s not a bad place to be. Usually nobody shares in my anxiety; now sixty million people do. Well, at least I’m not lonely. Wait – they say that the “owner of a lonely heart is better than the owner of a broken heart,” so not being lonely is no solace here.

I guess I have to dig deeper to get out of this feeling. I say to “get out” of this feeling because it really does feel like I’m dressed in this cloak of political anxiety. So I’m digging deep, and here is what I have come up with.

It may sound so cliché, but it’s so true. In fact, chances are you probably already figured it out on your own and don’t need me. Um, hello, if you live in the Five Towns and if you’ve ever been at a red light behind another car, you probably know what I’m talking about. Singing the song yet?

For the sake of not being sloganistic (please don’t check if that is a real word), I’ll say it a little differently: the best way to deal with the anxieties of the moment is to have gratitude to Hashem for all of the amazing things in our lives.

For me, some of those things are: Baruch Hashem, I have wonderful children who are healthy, happy, pure, and innocent. To them, it makes no difference who the president is because the safety dome over their lives is their loving parents. (Well, some of them are a bit MAGA crazed, but that’s my fault…. They will forget about that stuff in two weeks.) Hashem gave me those children and allows me to enjoy them every day. That’s a big deal.

Additionally, I am happily married and have a wife who puts up with a husband who, well, is wigging out because Trump lost. That takes patience, understanding, and kindness on her part.

I have a comfortable home, friends, family and neighbors who I enjoy spending time with. I have a job and am able to put food on my table. In fact, Hashem has made me and probably you – if you live in the frum community – in the top few percent of income earners in the country. (It may not feel that way at times, but remember: the median household income in the U.S. is $68,703.)

And the list goes on.

You get the point: if we count the blessings in our lives, if we really think and focus on the amazing things that Hashem has given us, we will realize how Hashem on a micro-level is carrying us on his shoulders. The macro stuff is none of our business anyway.

I admit, it is easier said than done. I checked the election returns so far six times while writing this. But I’m trying, at least.

Here is a tip that I have been utilizing over the past few hours to try and refocus myself.

Do this exercise: think about a vacation that you had at any time over the past ten years.

For me, I remember a balmy summer day a few years ago kayaking down the Delaware River with my wife. We had a great lunch in the car as we drove up from the city. When we got to the kayak rental shop, there was one of those wooden screen (well, ripped screen) doors that had the perfect bungalow colony creak. Before we got out on the river, I slapped on sunscreen and chilled on the riverbank for a few minutes. There was a toad in my kayak when I got into it, and I kind of freaked out so Jimbo, the guy working at the

kayak rental, had to fetch it for me before I was brave enough to strap myself into the kayak. I wiggled my kayak into the shallow waters and could see the shiny little rocks two inches below (hmm, am I too heavy for this?). As I began paddling, I caught the whiff of an early afternoon barbeque coming from the shoreline. It immediately reminded me to start convincing my wife that we should go kill it at Dougie’s in Woodbourne for dinner.

Got my point?

Now, at that moment, paddling down the Delaware River, the furthest thing from my mind was who the president of the United States was. It played no role whatsoever for good or for bad at determining my level of relaxation and enjoying my trip.

On the flip side, if, G-d forbid, at that moment I was concerned about a serious matter, such as a loved one being sick or a financial issue, chances are that thoughts of that would have crept in, even on what should have been a serene vacation. I may have still enjoyed my trip, but it would have been a struggle to try to keep my mind off the serious issue that worried me.

The difference between those two thoughts – who the president is and the hypothetical serious issue – is that one is really relevant to my life and one is absolutely not. A serious issue pervades people’s thoughts and affects their attitude regardless of where they are. Who the president is? Well, give me a good steak and fireworks on a warm summer night and I’m thinking about where the steak sauce is.

You can do the same exercise by thinking about an achievement you made, a gathering with friends that you enjoyed, a trip to Meron or Uman or a family wedding. At all of those moments, you were fully present in your own life. Who the president of the United States was really played no role if you were going to take “chicken or fish.”

The problem is that when we are not fully present in our own lives (whether it is sitting at a Shabbos table with the family, taking a walk with your wife, playing a game with the kids, etc.), our brains wander to other places…Instagram, gossip, politics. These are powerful forces that pull us in. Our brains trick us into believing that those things are, in fact, a big part of our lives. But they are not; they are pure distractions.

Now, before you accuse me of being an ignoramus and holier-than-though, let me confess: I am the biggest political junkie out there. Dare I say, I’m such a loser when it comes to that stuff, I fall for the distraction every time. I’m the guy that people ask, “So, what’s Trump up to…” and I’m the guy who seriously answers the question as if I just had my mid-day chat with Jared Kushner. So, I’m not lecturing you. I’m lecturing myself…and you.

It’s a little easier to do this today because last night was not a total loss.

As I write this, it looks like the Republicans will hold onto the Senate. That is huge. It means that Biden will not be able to pass a radical legislative agenda.

The truth is, at this point, politically, Biden needs to govern as a moderate. He barely squeaked out a victory and Republicans did well in the Senate races and some House races. This shows that there was not a blue wave or even a lurch to the left. Most of the country is still moderate. In two years, there will be many vulnerable Democrat senators up for reelection, and they will have a tough battle for the House (because party in power usually loses seats), so it would be silly for Biden to disregard the signal of the voters and to govern as a leftist. He will have to govern as a moderate.

Ultimately, Biden’s presidency will likely not be much different than Clinton’s. We survived Clinton, and we even survived Obama. Biden is a lightweight compared to them.

Regardless, I guarantee you that on my next trip down the Delaware or the next time I have a family birthday party, my feeling is not going to be, “This is great, but Biden’s president, so it’s really not so great.”

Hashem is going to continue to shower my and your lives with blessings (yes, we live in a crazy world and He loves us more than we know), and those blessings are not going to be hampered by who does the meaningless press conferences in the Rose Garden of the White House. I’ll leave it to Hashem to continue to run the world.

It was fun having Donny in the White House, but now Hashem

I’m the guy who seriously answers the question as if I just had my mid-day chat with Jared Kushner.

wants us to have fun in other ways. Maybe we will get some joy out of Biden, too. After all, crazy Uncle Joe can be entertaining, too. I heard he has a great plan to give all Americans free healthcargabagobooble.