The Election Is Over. Now What?

I hesitated to take on this subject because at first I thought that it’s not my usual “lane” of health, but I saw a post by a person online that made me realize just how impactful all of this has been on people’s stress levels and mental health. I won’t go into the details of the post, but suffice it to say I think the potential effects of the results of the election have been greatly magnified and catastrophized for many people.

I’m not saying your feelings about the election, good or bad, aren’t legitimate – just that some perspective is in order.

The 2024 election was always going to end with roughly half the country rejoicing and relieved and the other half grieving and horrified. Well, almost half and half - there’s probably more people out there than I’d like to think who aren’t even aware there was an election this week!

It has been my observation that the reality of what a given victorious candidate does in office is rarely (frankly, I can’t recall ever) nearly as good as his or her supporters anticipate, nor nearly as bad as their opposition fears.

But we were told repeatedly, multiple times per day for months on end, by the 24/7 media cycle as well as the content fed to us by the algorithms on social media that this was the most important election in our lifetimes - that victory was crucial, otherwise our country would be destroyed by “them!”

The presidential candidates took turns calling each other fascists and comparing each other to Hitler.

Over and over again, the political messages we’ve been fed are that “we” must defeat “them,” otherwise all is lost. “The stakes have never been higher!” Or so we were told – by both sides.

So is it any wonder that so many people are either euphoric or despondent as a result of the election outcome?

I think it’s fair to say, this has been a very stressful election for most people. For at least several months, on both sides of the political aisle, we’ve all been holding our breath waiting to see if our fate is the utopia promised by our candidate of choice, or the bleak hellscape that we’ve been warned awaits us should “our” side lose. I think there might have been a tiny bit of hyperbole in effect – but news channels and social media sites need people scared, angry – in other words, “emotionally engaged” - to get maximum ad revenue!

Regardless of your feelings about the election outcome, the bottom line is that life goes on – and again, I think the effects of the election result is highly unlikely to be as good or as bad overall as we’ve been repeatedly conditioned to believe. Sure, take a moment to either celebrate or grieve, but try not to get too wrapped up in it.

The president of the United States is probably the most powerful individual in the world. But the president can’t make you happy or sad, healthy or unhealthy, nor kind or unkind to others. You might like or dislike the president’s policies and actions, but ultimately, your physical and mental state and behavior is up to you.

Despite my emotional responses to past election results, in retrospect I can honestly say that my day to day life has never been significantly impacted by who won a presidential election. Yes, there were policies I liked and disliked. Maybe my finances were a bit better or worse due to tax policies or government programs. But there’s never been anything really life-changing. And despite the assurances of how great it’s going to be from the victorious side and the dire predictions of the vanquished, I really don’t expect my life to change all that much because one person is president versus the other. If my life is going to change substantially, it’s far more likely to be because I did or didn’t do something, or due to just plain luck. That said, I acknowledge that I don’t belong to a marginalized group of people, so my experience may be different than someone who does.

I will leave you with this thought…

If you’re happy about the outcome of the election, I caution you to be prepared for some degree of disappointment over the next four years. And if you’re not happy and perhaps are even scared of what may come, I urge you to take heart. For both, the reason is the same…

For better or worse (depending on your current perspective), the federal government is a model of inaction and inefficiency – change, good or bad, rarely happens quickly and presidential campaign promises go unmet far more often than not!

I implied that was the final thought, but, I think maybe one more might be in order:

Please be good to each other! Regardless of who the president is, we all still have lives to live and those lives will be a whole lot better if we treat each other with respect and kindness. Maybe after such a bitter election you don’t think “they” deserve your kindness. If that’s the case, my suggestion is don’t do it for them, do it for yourself – putting out love and kindness is a lot healthier and more peaceful than living in anger and hatred of people who don’t share your political views.

Whichever side of this election you find yourself on, you can at least breathe a sigh of relief that it is finally over and we won’t have to deal with any campaigning for the next presidential election for... perhaps as much as 6 months!

Until next time…

George Best, D.C.