One of the most remarkable aspects of human nature is our resilience, and nowhere is this more evident than in our response to devastating loss. There’s even a psychological term for it: post-traumatic growth.
We might recall our nation as we rocked along in our recovery from the devastation of 9/11. We pulled together, with the help of our leaders, and willingly accepted less convenience in our daily lives in order to adapt to the insecurity of life in the new millennium. We allowed the trauma to lead us into unknown territory, but we were all in the same boat.
The ongoing drama of politics continued, as did military actions with other countries and controversies of various types. However, even though disturbing things continued to happen, nothing looked, or felt, like the prolonged upheaval and internal conflict our nation is going through today. This is a different kind of heartbreak than we’ve experienced before.
Slightly more than half of our citizens who voted in last year’s Presidential election chose a candidate who promised to respond to their pleas for help in their everyday lives of work and family. He promised to “drain the swamp,” which echoed their concerns that the elite classes of the rich and the politicians were profiting while ignoring the working class. He promised that he would take strong action to improve their security and their futures.
One year later, I would not hesitate to describe our nation, including many of those who made a hopeful choice in electing Donald Trump to the Presidency, as deeply traumatized. A majority of our population expresses a serious lack of confidence in our elected leaders, most especially our President. The Constitution itself seems to be under attack from the very people we chose to defend it. Americans possessing mind-boggling wealth seem to have little concern for the many millions of their fellow citizens who struggle to feed their families. Our neighbors who were not born here live in fear that they might be snatched from their homes and sent to prison in a place they never heard of before.
In a recent example, an event witnessed nationwide might be seen as symbolic of what is happening to our country: without warning, without consent of the people whose “house” it represents, without even a shield from the full view of the violent assault, huge wrecking machines demolished the entire East Wing of the White House. President Trump had initially promised that the “remodeling” would have minimum impact on the East Wing, but, as the nation watched in shock, the entire structure crashed to the ground. Oh well, said Trump, you’ll love the new ballroom. I don’t think I’m the only one who felt profoundly sad looking at those pictures.
At this point, you may be saying, “OK, I get the point on the trauma, but where does the growth come in?” That’s where we need to tear our eyes away from the car wreck that is our federal government right now and open our minds to a vision of where we need to go from here.
Trump was re-elected because the problems of the working class didn’t significantly change under Joe Biden’s leadership. Even though Biden’s policies were more supportive of people’s efforts to live a stable and prosperous life, the gap between the super- rich and the rest of us just kept widening. Rather than address, or even acknowledge, that gap, Trump decided to focus on taking the wrecking machine to the employees of the federal government and non-criminal immigrants in a completely misguided attempt to fight “fraud, waste and abuse” as well as crime.
It quickly became apparent that the rich were just going to get richer under the Trump regime. The ultimate betrayal of the lower and middle classes came with the budget bill that decimated healthcare and food benefits while making permanent the large tax cuts the rich folks wanted real bad.
OK, back to the vision part. As the incredible complexity of the Epstein issue starts to reveal itself, a shift can be felt in the power Trump has exercised over the past year. It is finally clear, to me, anyway, that we are emerging on the far side of the killing fields and that our country needs our passionate support in order to survive and move forward.
We all must agree that there is no going back, because there were in fact problems with the way things were before. Did federal agencies need to reboot and streamline their operations? No doubt. Did immigration laws and procedures need to be revamped and enforced so that illegal immigration wasn’t the only choice facing so many people who just wanted to be a part of the American way of life? Absolutely. Is there something wrong with a healthcare system that rewards rich people and insurance companies while pricing out average families? You know there is.
I’ve often visualized a broken heart as one that shatters into a million pieces that fly everywhere. At first, pain is the only feeling that exists. But then, something truly miraculous happens.
Each shard of the broken heart sends out a tiny shoot, barely perceptible, into the ground where it landed. The shoots, fed by blood and irrigated by tears, begin to root and draw strength from the surrounding earth. Slowly, a new life, informed by the loss but not dominated by it, emerges into being.
Americans have learned a painful lesson, but we’re not pulling the covers over our heads. Young, smart and practical politicians are showing up everywhere with a powerful message that will resonate with all Americans who want our country and all its citizens to thrive.
We can make America better than ever.
Susan Hull is a retired clinical psychologist, a horse trainer, and an Independent voter. She is excited by the idea of problem-solvers becoming the new rock stars.
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