One Reason Why Things Might Get Better

Whether you support or don’t support what President Trump is doing, we are clearly at a unique time in history.  

For many who are alarmed by what is going on, there is much fear and pain. And so many who support President Trump are afraid and in pain as well. 

But I believe in this pain lies the seeds for a much better situation. The reason for this, stated simply, is that our own pain and the pain of others can often motivate us to raise our games and try to make things better.  Indeed, that is the essence of who I believe we truly are.  

There is also a dynamic playing out that I think (hope) can be very favorable.  Rich or poor, the period of the Great Depression and World War II was basically a time where virtually everybody’s sense of safety was threatened.  Few families were spared by the Great Depression.  And many of the affluent fought in the war, a war that if lost, threatened the whole country.

But since then (and even before), there has been a big divergence in feelings of being safe.   A large and growing percent of the population has not felt “safe”.  These folks haven’t had confidence that they could provide education, food, medical care, physical safety etc. for their families.  And indeed many have not been able to provide these things.  

As a generalization (and perhaps to oversimplify), since the war, that has not been the case for the affluent.  For the most part, the affluent have not had to worry about healthcare, food, housing, employment, fighting wars, etc… Of course, the affluent like everybody else face great challenges— injuries, addiction, illness, family strife, etc.  But the affluent generally haven’t had to wrestle with the type of every day existential anxiety that so many have faced and continue to face.

But under President Trump, it seems that many affluent people now feel an existential fear that they haven’t felt since WWII.  Of course many of President Trump’s policies are on the surface seem financially excellent for the affluent.  But that doesn’t negate the basic safety concerns that many affluent now feel for the the first time in a long time.  Of course, this is not the case for many affluent people who have faced trauma, mental illness, and other types of challenges that do lead people to feel existential anxiety.

And I think this means that more affluent people will do more to make a bigger difference.  Of course, many affluent already help out financially and in other ways, help that ranges from generous to staggeringly generous.  But I think we’re going to see a lot more.    

And I don’t think it is just the affluent who will do more.  Indeed many non-affluent already do so much to make a difference.  And I think this too will only increase.    

Bottom line, I think the Universe is galvanizing people to help out more and make a difference where each of us can.  I see many examples where this is already happening, and as this trend picks up steam as I expect, the leverage may be powerful, and I think we might be surprised to the upside by what happens.   

I’d welcome hearing what you think