Landon Block is a political science junior and the Opinion Editor for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
My first thought after Trump won was selfish: I don’t want to be angry for the next four years straight.
Then I remembered the words of Colorado State Senator Tom Sullivan. I met Senator Sullivan last October in his home state. His son, Alex, was murdered in the Aurora Theater Massacre in 2012. Since then, he told me, he’s turned into “a ball of anger and frustration and lack of patience.” Oh, and he ran for office, won, and actually made change.
I spent the months leading up to Election Day reading the news, listening to interviews, interning for political organizations, volunteering to contact voters and, of course, voting. I thought about the election for hours on end, every single day. I did everything I could and then some.
I was convinced things would turn out my way. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers, political freaks like me and normal people alike, worked so hard to succeed. But we failed.
This isn’t unique to the presidential race. Many of us are deeply hurt by state and local losses that didn’t enjoy the fanfare of national news. Months of energy and passion evaporated like it never happened.
So where do we go from here? What do we do once we lose the election, and maybe our hope along with it? Here’s the uncomfortable answer: we keep organizing. We have no other choice.
Yes, this is easier said than done. I am exhausted. I’m sure you are too.
Even so, that doesn’t give us a pass to give up. Giving up only spares ourselves from the despair, the anger, the defeat. But it neglects the people and issues who desperately need attention, the ones who don’t have the privilege of not caring about politics.
The anger and despair we may feel is there. I can’t tell you not to feel it. But I will tell you to act on it, to fight for change even when it feels like the institution is fighting against you.
This is hard work. But luckily for you, you’re in a great place to do it. You’re surrounded by thousands of other young people ready to fight for the same issues. We all know the existential threat of climate change, the fear of school shootings, the strain of the housing crisis, and the horror of war around the globe. And many of us are ready to do something about it.
I understand the urge to tune out politics entirely after such a monumental loss. I, too, have thought that all hope is lost and we can’t get anything done. But that mindset will not help us.
Take your time to grieve the effort you’ve put in. But after that, people are counting on you to show up. I know for a fact we will not be able to steer positive change if we don’t try.
The most vulnerable among us need to see you speaking up in your communities, marching at the protests, keeping up with the news (however tiresome), and doing the work. It doesn’t have to be testifying before Congress; it can start with an Instagram story. But it has to be consistent, and it has to be doing something.
As bleak as things seem, countless organizations are looking for people just like you. The pain you feel now sucks, it really does. But the validation from winning after dedicating yourself to your community makes it all worth it.
So use your endless anger and frustration and lack of patience like Senator Sullivan does. Use it to fuel you into making positive change even when it seems impossible.
The issues will continue to exist whether or not you tune them out. The pain they cause won’t go away, so neither can our passion.