Hold Your Breath

Hi. I’m stressed, too. Here are random thoughts on this from the beginning of November 5th, 2024 — election day:

Today, a convicted felon and failed businessman (six bankruptcies!) slash narcissist slash twice impeached politician who does not believe in democracy, who called for and achieved an armed insurrection, and who lies compulsively is the Republican nominee for the President of the United States.

While the presidency is at stake today, winning the presidency is only part of what is decided tomorrow. There are countless House and State elections, State Supreme Court, and other Statewide offices on the line tomorrow, which leads me to a strangely comforting thought…

There’s no scenario when it’s “over” later today. Whoever wins will face a passionate, well-funded, and motivated opposition who will spend the next four years attempting to win back what they lost.

Hmmm. This is just stressing me out more. Let’s try something different.

That’s Curious

If you ride a Waymo, they’ll flip you off.

Waymo is an autonomous vehicle available in San Francisco. No driver. All robots. I’ve taken ten rides so far, and it’s a coin flip if someone gives me the finger. There’s the folks on the street. Other drivers. Really, anyone might flip you off.

That’s curious.

With no judgment and pure curiosity, I suspect the reasons for the middle finger might include the following:

Anger with a service that will make a bunch of jobs irrelevant.

Abstract anger with the general idea of artificial intelligence and what it might present to the human race.

Fear. Pure fear of the unknown. We, as a species, have an impressive history of doing incredibly stupid shit because we’re scared.

Fear is natural. It’s equal parts rationality and irrationality. Shoved together instantly when you are quickly presented with a suddenly unfamiliar situation. It’s your brain flipping the high alert switch because you don’t know what to expect next, and the stakes appear high.

So you react. Fight or flight.

And then you flip off the robot car.

Cool.

There’s another emotion you can experience in a car, and that’s road rage. This is the moment you’re behind the wheel, and another driver cuts you off. In a second, you go from calmly driving down the highway to a vicious, rageful human bent on the destruction of this other.

In an instant.

That’s curious.

With no judgment and pure curiosity, I suspect the reasons for the rage might include the following:

Surprise, your calm drive to work was suddenly interrupted.

Anger at this anonymous whoever interrupted your calm drive to work and threatened your safety.

Finally, and full disclosure on this one, I did research here; you’re probably male and either already stressed about something else and/or have higher levels of impulsiveness and aggression on the road.

Understanding that, as a human being, you can have these real and immediate visceral reactions is essential because these reactions are being exploited daily1.

On Curiosity

I mostly ignored the mid-terms. I ignored it because most of the content generated that cycle wasn’t news; it was carefully constructed incendiary entertainment posing as news designed to get me to flip off someone. It was not designed to inform but to get me to react. Quickly and emotionally. No reason. Fight or flight. I chose flight.

This political season, I’ve been all in. Since last November, I have completed one small act each day. This can be a donation, or this can be an action like writing and editing this piece. At the outset, I had a blank slate regarding what I knew. I spent a lot of time understanding how political payment processing works. I built a remedial understanding of the critical issues in each swing state and read about the intricacies of voter suppression. Curiosity is a feedback loop. The more I learn, the more I can inform and target my actions. It’s delicious. Information is empowering.

And calming.

Elections have been gamified. The stories from major media outlets are designed to get you to engage and not to think. In fact, they’d much prefer if you forwarded that link with that clever headline to all your friends… who cares if you read it? We need the clicks. We need that sweet advertising revenue.

Campaigns run the same playbook, but they don’t need your clicks; they need your money, and that means they must convince you, scare you, and motivate you with an artisanally crafted crisis tailored to get you not to think but to flip off the robot car and then donate as frequently as possible.

The Big Lie

The only vaccination I know to the incessant barrage of memes, rage, and compelling lies is education. One of my daily acts has been educating myself. When someone makes a bold claim on the news or social media, I take the time to understand what they are saying and the history behind it. Many of these research adventures have led me to the darkest chapters of United States history, where I’ve learned that this group of oppositional humans has always existed. Its election deniers in 2024; in 1865, after losing the Civil War, unrepentant Confederates were sent to Washington as senators and representatives.

Congress refused to seat them and drafted part of the 14th Amendment “to perpetuate, as a constitutional imperative, that any who violate their oath to the Constitution are to be barred from public office.”

I didn’t know that. Now I do. We both do.

The biggest lie they propagate is devious and deflating. It’s the idea, the feeling, that there are many — more of them than you. They do this by being loud and outrageous, minimizing those they consider less. They want you to think they are legion because they know they are less. There are more of us than them. Not Democrats or Republics, but decent, kind, and thoughtful humans. I’m talking about people who want the best for others and are willing to do the work to help each other.

So, today. Vote, then stop watching the feeds. Turn off the TV, which is more entertainment than news. Don’t worry. The results will find their way to you. I guarantee it. While it does, take time to teach yourself something. Go deep. Call someone you know is stressed and ask them how they are doing. They’ll laugh nervously. That laughter, that’s stress transforming into relief. You helped. Briefly. Call another person? Sure. Do 15 minutes of your favorite exercise. Even better. Your brain does its best work when it’s working out; today, you need your best work. Tomorrow, too.

There’s no scenario when it’s “over” later today. Whoever wins will face a passionate, well-funded, and motivated opposition who will spend the next four years attempting to win back what they lost.

But there are more of us than them.

Now breathe.

Oh, Waymo? They delivered absolute magic. Try it. It will exceed your expectations and give you a glimpse into a possible future where serious crashes are significantly reduced because 94% are caused by human error. There will be unforeseen consequences, upsides, and downsides, but as a super fan of progress, Waymo is on a short list of moments I know I’ve seen a compelling future. ↩