We can hold leaders accountable, persuade our neighbors and care for our communities without staying stuck in the last election.
By Political Fatigue
President Donald Trump appears against a backdrop of protest signs and the Oval Office in an illustration accompanying this opinion column. Credit: EEW Magazine Online illustration
I am not a Donald Trump supporter. I did not vote for him. Yet nearly two years after the 2024 election, I am tired of conversations that keep circling back to how voters could have chosen him. I hear the question after Sunday service and see it repeated on social media, as though a new answer might change the outcome.
He won. The votes were counted, and the result stands. We can examine why people voted as they did. We should. But if that becomes the only question we ask, we neglect a more urgent one: What are we doing with the influence we have? Accepting the result does not mean accepting every decision Trump makes.
Protest, scrutiny, and fierce criticism belong to democratic life. So do persuasion, organizing and service. We can do all of them without living in November 2024. People need us now. Families are struggling to pay their bills, and children need mentors. Churches, nonprofits and neighborhood organizations have work to do regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.
This is not to say that government and policy don’t matter deeply. They do. But citizens can act without waiting for Washington. We can feed somebody, tutor a child, support a struggling family and advocate for legislation we believe in. These are meaningful acts of citizenship too. I am concerned over how much of our attention one politician can command.
Every hour spent arguing again about his character, or the character of his voters, is an hour we could spend doing other things like building support for a better idea or meeting a need close to home. Long after announcing what we stand for, or what we stand against, the work still has to be done.
The midterms are Nov. 3. If you oppose Trump’s agenda, then organize around the policies you want. Support candidates who will pursue them, then persuade your neighbors. Check your registration and vote. Then keep showing up where you live.
An election can change who holds office. It cannot do the work of caring for our neighbors for us.
Political Fatigue is a pseudonym used by the writer of this opinion piece.
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