Shock, Shake-Ups and Social Revolution
This US election was never about which leader would create the best policies, deliver on their promises or help the most people. This election, more than any other before it, was about people, regular people, stepping into their power and realising: “I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of the system, the lies, the corruption. We deserve better!” That’s why Bernie had such a huge following. That’s why Trump is President-Elect right now. Not because he’s going to miraculously change all of these things, but because the way he portrayed himself represented the rebel, the ‘I’m not going to play by your rules’, the ‘something different’ that people so desperately are yearning for, while Hillary represented the same old same old, business as usual. And people are done with the usual.
This election, or perhaps more accurately the upcoming post-election period, is about people realising: “The President is not going to save us, at least not under the conditions of the current system.” People are protesting Trump right now, and if Hillary got in people would be protesting that, when actually the problem is way bigger than either Trump or Hillary. The problem has deep roots that have wrapped their tentacles around every aspect of society. It has created a political system that is answerable to corporate and other power interests while ignoring, or bulldozing over (quite literally in the case of Standing Rock), the rights and needs of people and planet.
It has created a political system where it is normal for us to be debating over which candidate will give women more rights over their bodies when the real question should be why the hell is a woman’s decision over what she does with her body even in the political system?? We are scared that one candidate over another will repeal same-sex marriage, when the real question is, why do politicians get any say whatsoever in who we marry? The old political system is designed for a world where the citizens are treated like children, and the world is ruled by an elite few who get to play parent. The citizens have to abide by ridiculous laws, they have to live with the consequences of reckless decisions made without their wellbeing and sovereignty in mind, and people don’t want to live like that anymore.
As long as the core problem exists, we will never have the leader we deserve (if we need a leader at all). The bigger picture goal here that is of immediate priority for the long-term wellbeing of people and planet is: we need to rip those roots out. And the energy on this planet right now, the energy within us all that is ready to claim our true power and right to freedom and right to live a good life, is stronger than it has ever been. And that energy rules above all other rulers, it leads above all other leaders. And that energy, in thinker pose, said, hmmm, which outcome would cause the biggest shake up and wake up here? Which election outcome would take us to the destination we deserve via the quickest possible route, in the best way possible? Not because of what the leader does or doesn’t do, but due to how people respond. And the energy decided: Trump. Trump would have the biggest ‘dramatic’ effect. The old building is falling either way, whether brick by brick or a full-on implosion. And as you may know from personal experience, an implosion is sometimes what we need to trigger deep, absolute change.
When a band-aid needs to come off a wound, you can rip it off quickly or do it slowly. The American political band-aid had to be ripped off quickly because quite frankly, we don’t have time to do anything slowly anymore! The band-aid has been ripped off, and a lot of what we are seeing and will continue to see isn’t pretty. But you know what, protesting Trump and installing Hillary isn’t going to heal the wound. The wound has to be seen and acknowledged. To be clear here, Trump isn’t the Nurse or Doctor in this little analogy! We are. The people are. Trump’s role was to shake everyone up in one way or other, because things needed shaking. The wounds need healing. The wound that is the reality of the rotten system. The wound that is the hurt, anger and pain that exists in rural America that most people in the cities didn’t realise was there, or there to this degree. The wound that is the racism, sexism and homophobia that still exists. And do you know what is one of the silver linings here? This is an opportunity for us all to step up as wound healers in whichever ways we are called to do.
To many people, even though Hillary wasn’t the first choice over Bernie, she at least seemed the safer and more sane choice over Trump. But had she won it would only have served to keep the illusion of safe and sane alive a little longer. And after some cheering, soon enough there’d be yet more drones dropping yet more bombs, and Wikileaks would reveal yet more truths, and then there’s that matter of millions of Americans still feeling totally ripped off, hurt, angry, forgotten and tired of it all. Trump is by no means Mr Safe and Sane, but what he is is a good salesman, and boy did he sell his heart out that he would be the revolutionary change-maker of a lifetime. And, on a soul level, he is playing that part well insofar as this will trigger a revolution. On a political ego-level however, I don’t think it will go the way he sold it or even the way he’s planning it.
It was a surreal moment, watching Donald Trump and his family walk out on stage the other night as President-elect. It felt like we’d been watching a Hollywood movie for months where a brash billionaire with no political experience and no qualms about saying offensive, outrageous things, decides to run for President and actually wins. And then suddenly, the movie screen widens, and widens, and the actors walk out amongst the people, and you realise, this is actually happening. The movie is real life! So on that level it was a shocking moment, yet it also wasn’t surprising.
People are tired of a system that is broken and corrupt, a system that ignores the needs of everyday people because it has to answer to other power players. And a lot of people, Democrat and Republican alike, saw Hillary as representing that old system. For Hillary voters, this may not seem fair. Why should Hillary pay for the crimes of a system that is bigger than her, when other Presidential nominees haven’t had to? While some people feel she was judged differently because she was a woman, and there’s definitely that element, I think a lot of it (aside from how people felt about her personally) had to do with where we are at in this stage of our awakening: moving from feeling disempowered, lied to and oppressed, to knowing our power, wanting to embody it in our daily lives (from the simplest of ways like having work that supports us, ideally work we enjoy, to large-scale social overhauls,) having greater access to truth, and wanting freedom. For a lot of voters, Trump was far from the ideal other choice. For a lot of voters a vote for Trump had nothing to do with a vote for actual Trump or his views. It was a vote against the establishment, against the same old, same old business as usual, against the elite lording it over the masses.
There is of course massive irony in that sentence, because you can't get much more of a symbol of an elite lording it over the masses than Donald Trump sitting inside at the top of Trump Tower. But somehow people were able to get over that lifestyle detail, (were inspired by it even) and get over the offensive things he has said, because they resonated so much with the energy he stirred up: that of rebellion and anger against a system that is not working for people. He didn't create this energy, it was already there. He just lit a match among dry grass and watched the fire burn across the country. He is like a circus ringmaster that knew exactly what to say to get the people rolling in.
And then came his victory speech. Different tone, different language, different vibe altogether. It’s going to be an interesting day when those that voted specifically for his inflammatory words start asking “When do we get started on the wall?” and Trump responds, “What wall?” I don't know how much of what he said is policy he'll actually stand by, and how much was just strategy to achieve a goal.
People now feel sick and in fear, feeling as if they have woken up to find they live in a country where hate, violence, racism, sexism and discrimination have been validated and endorsed. While there are sadly those who will see this result as permission to abuse others, most Trump supporters are surely not so easily thrown into that category. Women, Latinos and Muslims voted for him. Conscious, kind, warm-hearted people who champion the rights of minority groups, who strongly disagree with wall-building and pussy-grabbing voted for him. Silently, secretly. So before taking to the streets to protest, the question has to be asked: Why? Why did so many people vote for Trump? The Electoral College Electors could all vote for Hillary and change the result, and if you are someone saying yes, woohoo, fantastic, it’s still important to address the pink, well red, elephant in the room that is not so silent anymore.
If Hillary was President right now, you are still left with half the country feeling upset, angry, disempowered and protesting. You are still left with massive hypocrisy. Hillary was a champion for many who believed she stood for women’s rights. If you watch the video of her Nov 4 Rally concert, and listen to the lyrics being sung by the rap artists, they are as far from empowering women as you can get. For parents who are wondering how on Earth they explain to their daughters how a man who says it is okay to grab a woman by the pussy is their next President, you also have to explain why a woman who was almost President had men on stage basically singing the same thing and worse? A lesson for Hillary and her team is that you can’t pitch yourself as one thing, and promote another thing in the guise of entertainment and expect people who already don’t trust you to vote for you. Again, we go back to the issue of voting for an illusion. We deserve better than more fricken illusions!!! We deserve better than misogynistic words coming from both Trump and the musical artists supporting Hillary, approved by her or her team.
Something we all need to learn from this election climate is to listen to the concerns of others without attacking each other. If someone posted something troubling about Hillary they'd be shut down with “Are you pro-Trump?” comments and vice versa, people shared the latest crazy thing Trump said only for people to assume “How can you vote for Hillary?” And there were good things Hillary said, and good things Trump said, but people who were committed to one camp or other didn’t want to hear any of those things. And so people shut down and stopped sharing or commenting.
My tendency is to see the whole spectrum of the rainbow and the bigger energetic picture playing out, which includes the light and shadow aspects of all people and situations. The next step in our evolution asks all of us to widen our lens a little bit, (or a lot), to try to understand other people’s points of view before automatically shutting down, or shutting others down. It doesn’t mean you have to change your ways or your beliefs, but diverse opinions and choices help us all be a lot more aware of what other people are feeling, fearing, going through, needing and so on.
In this election, most people in all camps wanted change. Not just an inspiring “Yes we can!” promise of change, but a complete and utter radical, revolutionary overhaul of the system that doesn’t allow change unless it serves the few who control it. It would have been interesting to see the numbers had Bernie been the Democratic candidate, because he was a much more positively-geared champion for the revolutionary cause and had a massive following. But the DNC wanted Hillary in there, and you have to wonder what the political agenda was behind that?
There is an odd sense of relief that comes when everything just gets laid out on the table once and for all. When a jar that has been getting stuffed with the same old dirt year after year finally cracks open from the pressure. Yes many are feeling broken today, but just as many are saying: ‘this system has been broken for a long time, our personal worlds have felt broken for a long time.’
Sometimes the day comes when a partner says 'It's over" and as devastating as it is, at the same time you have to admit that the marriage hasn't been working for years. As you sit in your divorce half-way house ruled by a lecherous landlord who keeps trying to pat you on the bottom, it’s natural to think maybe the old marriage wasn’t so bad after all. But in your heart you know you deserve better, and your soul is saying "Don't worry, this current situation is not forever. This landlord is not your new soulmate, and this house is not your final destination.”
I don’t know how long this new landlord will be around. Will it only be another 4 weeks, the full 4 years or is there some plot twist up ahead? Will he turn out to be an unexpected wildcard that actually progresses us forward in ways we can’t possibly foresee? Will he be ousted due to some scandal or oust himself due to boredom or annoyance that in this most powerful of roles he’ll find that he doesn’t have that much power at all? He’s used to having an idea and boom, make it happen. It doesn’t work that way in government. I have no idea what to expect from him, a man who says conflicting things constantly. What I do know is people are breaking free of the old, one way or the other. People are stepping into their power, one way or the other. Whichever route we choose, there is a reason for that route. And that doesn’t mean you can’t protest, it doesn’t mean the route can’t change. It doesn’t mean you have to accept decisions that don’t resonate with you. But every part of the pathway has a purpose, and it is to our benefit to open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to what this current outcome is showing us and telling us.
(c) Dana Mrkich 2016
