Anxiety about the country’s future
Like many progressive and liberal-leaning folks in this country, I have approached July 4th with ambivalence at best or embarrassment or shame at worst as many years back as I can recall. There exists much hypocrisy between the alleged visions upon which this country was founded and its practices, even from day one. Rarely have I felt pride in the actions of my native country, though I have admired its ideals or else I wouldn’t have gone to law school with the intents of learning the law and then working to change it.
After last week, when a collective anxiety settled upon the emotional landscape of left-leaning folks who were remotely tuned into the presidential debate and blow-after-blow from the Supreme Court, this year (i.e. today) will be no different. I share a sense of foreboding about the future of this country, its version of a democratic government (if you can call it that), the rights of its citizens who don’t adhere to the religious beliefs or specific moralistic version of life espoused by the Supreme Court’s majority, and what will happen if the convicted felon becomes president again (particularly with expanded executive powers).
Ways I’ve spent this day in the past have included:
Emailing prosecutors about their failures to address crimes for which Black folks were victims;
Cooking a feast of foods that were very much not American (i.e. Vietnamese, Indian, and Senegalese) for friends;
Outlining policies and practices for the educational institution for which I worked to better enshrine gender-based equity (i.e. Title IX);
Working at a crisis line to support the folks with post-traumatic stress disorder (i.e. mainly veterans) because they’re triggered by firework explosions sounding like instruments of war; and
Cuddling and trying to create as calm a space as possible for my prior pup who was absolutely terrified of fireworks. (We’ll see how my new puppy does on her first fourth.)
Today, I will read some portion of the slew of recent Supreme Court decisions that, based on the assessments of my news sources, sound as though they further erode this country’s ideals and dismantle our (at least my) legal-education-informed understanding of separation of powers, limit of powers, and how laws are implemented once passed and signed. I will attempt to understand how far this “supreme” court of ours has gone. I want to read for myself whether we’re criminalizing homelessness in what for so many folks is an unaffordable nation that provides little to no safety net. I want to grasp and mourn just how much more work is going to be needed on the climate front and for environmental protections when we’re not trusting the scientists and experts but allowing judges to interpret issues brought to their attention along political lines—and then not admitting to the truth of what they’re actually doing but trying to veil it under made-up principles. I’ve been listening to podcasts and reading others’ takes on these recent opinions, some of which seem to abolish accepted judicial doctrines and completely obliterate the idea of stare decisis. Let’s see just how bad it is and how much work needs to be done, as another presidential election is only four months away. (And anxiety looms huge after that debate and the ensuing discussions about whether a new Democratic candidate may take over because belief the current one can still do the job has plummeted.)
If you’ve stumbled upon this blog, I love providing therapy and support for attorneys, for law students, for activists, and for people who care about ideals like equality, equity, freedom in bodily autonomy, and addressing the climate catastrophe. And not every therapy session needs to be about any of this stuff (and who live in Seattle or Washington state, as that’s as far as my license extends). I also provide therapy for more general anxiety and depression and trauma and burnout.
You may have heard therapists aren’t supposed to wade into politics, that they’re supposed to not be obviously biased. To that I say, so is the Supreme Court. I’m skilled at approaching things neutrally and examining the evidence; we’ll do that in therapy too, particularly if we use cognitive behavioral techniques. I won’t impose my own preferences or tell you what I’d do in your situation. I won’t regularly make what’s going on for you an invitation to talk about me though occasionally engage in some self-disclosure. (Also: my blog isn’t therapy! Nor is it intended to be!) But lots of times, folks seek therapy with someone whose biases and preferences they know and with whom they can speak freely and not worry about offending. (I hold back on some topics with my therapist because I don’t want to offend her.)
I recognize I’m not the therapist for everyone, and this blog could be a real turn-off. It could also help some people find the therapist who wants to wade into injustice, politics, environmental issues, and human rights issues with them because these things do impact us. It’s just a question of whether we numb ourselves and ignore reality or make cynical or detached comments or whether we actually confront how we’re feeling and find the energy to do something before it's potentially too late. I have plenty of energy for political matters outside of providing therapy; I’ll take actions—but after I process my own anxiety, rage, and grief.