Don’t let Trump Exhaust You

Advice from Tom Nichols of The Atlantic:

So what can an ordinary voter do to maintain engagement with the election while not turning their cerebral cortex into a wet, steaming mess of fused wiring? The way to withstand Trump’s daily assaults on our senses is to regard them with fortitude, and even some stoicism. He’s trying to shake our confidence in democracy and basic decency; remaining engaged in civic life, calmly and without stooping to such tactics and rhetoric, is the superpower of every citizen in a democracy.

I understand why people might flinch at this advice. My wife, like so many of our friends, now reflexively changes the channel whenever Trump appears. Human beings can endure only so much of his disjointed affect and singsongy taunts, especially while knowing that the voters might roll the dice again and give this offensive man direct control of hundreds of nuclear weapons along with one more chance to destroy the Constitution.

But to ignore Trump is a mistake. To dismiss him as an incompetent clown is dangerous. Voters who care about democracy, who care about the future of freedom in America and around the world, must steel themselves to stay in the political process. We do not need to explode over every attempt to bait and troll us. Instead, we can let every one of his manic outbursts increase our resolve to speak clearly and plainly in defense of our system of government and our democratic culture—especially to family and friends who might be treading water in the ever-filling Trump septic pool.