What I’ve Learned In The Aftermath Of The 2024 Election
When I launched this Substack the premise was to ask whomever is reading if whatever I am writing about makes sense. It’s still the premise. Yet as I sit here in the aftermath of the 2024 Election nothing makes sense to me.
Nothing.
I am physically numb — that kind of numb that runs through your body when you get one of those calls that something terrible happened to someone you care about it. Only this time, it is not one person. It’s a whole country.
I want to cry but I can’t. I am angry. I am sad. I am disappointed. At times I am literally nauseous. I am fearful of what is to come.
I am trying to make sense of it all so I am sitting here writing and doing what I always do when something does not turn out the way I had hoped or expected. I try to make sense of it and ask myself what I can learn from it so I can move forward. So here goes.
The Patriarchy Still Rules
I learned that the patriarchy is alive and well in these good old United States. The misogyny and sexism that I experienced throughout my corporate career that I wanted to believe had improved more than it has is still deeply rooted in the DNA of this country. There are people — both male and female — who just cannot wrap their heads around the idea of a woman — much less a woman of color — becoming president. If Kamala Harris had been a man we would be Trump-free.
Unqualified, Flawed Men Still Get Chosen Over Qualified Women
I learned early in my career that for a woman to get ahead she had to reach an idealized version of perfection. Had it not been for the affirmative action and equal opportunity protections set in place before I entered the workforce I would not have gotten my first sales job. It was not enough to be well-qualified.
Unfortunately, that is still true.
Van Jones said it best after the Bret Baier interview on Fox, “She has to be flawless. He gets to be lawless.”
The Media’s First Objective Is To Make Money. Truth Be Damned.
This one I did not learn, but was reminded of. The media’s first objective is to make money. The second is to report the news. Having worked on the inside I know this first hand. The idea that “if it bleeds it leads” is now on steroids in the age of social media.
Engagement equals clicks and clicks translate to money, whether it is a social media platform or the media property sharing their content. Rage gets engagement. The facts, not so much. When you factor in Trump who ran a campaign on hate and venom everything he says falls under the “if it bleeds it leads” axiom. The media made boatloads of money on that at the country’s expense.
Television News is Bad For Your Health
I have not turned on the news since Wednesday morning. It is too distressing. The idea of having to hear Trump’s voice repeated over and over just adds to my nausea. I am not interested in all the Monday morning quarterbacking on what Kamala did wrong, as if being a woman and a woman of color is wrong.
My consumption of television news — be it traditional, cable or streaming will now be cut back to the weather and traffic reports for the foreseeable future. I’ll stay informed but not addicted and go semi-retro and read my news and commentary — albeit it on my iPad and not newsprint. Maybe throw in some intelligent podcasts that actually go deeper than the soundbites and are based on facts.
Americans Need A Lesson In Digital Literacy
I learned that the majority of Americans are under-informed. They read or watch sound bites and move on to playing Fortnite. They are not digitally literate enough to distinguish between disinformation, misinformation, and the truth, They can’t recognize a bot from a real person. They share falsehoods and conspiracy theories spread by disinformation campaigns coordinated by our adversaries without vetting them first. Wonder why your Twitter X followers shrunk in a day? The bot’s job is done. They’re on vacation now.
Anger And Hate Are Having Their Moment Over Joy And Hope
I learned that I have to accept that people saw Trump’s incoherent ramblings about people eating cats and dogs and heard him calling the United States a pile of garbage and said that was okay. I have to accept that some of those people were people I once respected.
They didn’t care he was a convicted felon and a rapist who instigated an insurrection among a laundry list of other crimes. They heard his whining, his victimhood, and said that’s okay. They said they could vote for that — because well the other choice was a woman and he claims he is going to fix everything — even the stuff that is not broken. It’s just a matter of time before he claims responsibility for what the Wall Street Journal called the dream economy he is inheriting.
Had they done more research they would learn he is not a fixer. He is a destroyer with a long list of failed business endeavors and he is on a path to destroy everything this country has built. Project 2025 — the one he disavowed — is already underway.
Americans Have The Shortest Memories On The Planet
I was reminded that Americans have short memories. We are not like other countries that know and remember their history. The majority seem to have forgotten that four years ago we were in the middle of a pandemic that would not have been anywhere near as bad as it was had Trump managed it better. That four years ago we were rationing toilet paper and wearing masks as he was telling us to drink disinfectant. The incredible progress the Biden Administration made getting us out of the hole he dug was not fast enough for them.
Maybe This Does All Make Sense
The thing is that in many ways, this all does make sense. The Internet and the social media platforms that it created have run unregulated for over two decades and have broken our social discourse. People hide behind fake avatars. Others don’t hide but too often too many post something they would never say to anyone’s face. Algorithms encourage us to live in our bubbles — all in the name of money. Without Twitter, Trump would never have gained the notoriety he did leading up to the 2016 Election. He would have stayed the pariah he always was in New York, his infidelities fodder for Page Six in the NY Post.
The Next Step Is Getting Into Agreement
One thing I have learned over the years is that when the !#@;! hit the fan in my life the first step to moving forward has been to get into agreement with my new reality. The majority of Americans said the price of groceries was more important to them than human decency. It’s a struggle for me to get into agreement that is who America is today. But I must.
Once we pass through the stages of grief and have sufficiently mourned the loss many of us are living in at the moment we can collectively figure out how to move forward — even when we appear to be taking steps backward. At least that is what I plan on doing.
This was originally published on Does This Make Sense ? on Substack. Subscribe for free here.
Originally published at https://joannetombrakos.com on November 9, 2024.