We Are More Than What Happens To Us

a collective response to trauma

I recently wrote a memoir about recovering from trauma. The tagline was: “You are more than what happened to you.” My premise was that for me, a key component in recovering from trauma was to assume agency over my own life.

Today it appears that America has experienced a collective trauma. It is no less painful for being self-inflicted. We have elected as our next President an ill-prepared man who disregards the rights of others. From what I understand, he was elected in response to two factors — pervasive feelings of disenfranchisement on the part of many white people who are experiencing job loss and wage stagnation, and evangelical voters who place primacy emphasis on the appointment of conservative justices in order to address the issue of abortion.

I have fears about this new president. Many fears. I want to resist the scenarios that crowd into my mind: human rights rolled back, misogyny flourishing, whole financial sectors bankrupted, the natural world destroyed for profit, nations warring with previously harnessed powers now in play.

If I apply what I learned during my own trauma and recovery, I know we must wrestle to regain agency over the parts of our common life that we can still control. This could span a plethora of things. For example, can we:

begin to understand the disenfranchisement of some whites who are not making it financially
resist fear and hatred of the Other, no matter who that Other might be — by race, gender or creed
fight against misogyny and support the full humanity of women and their bodies
make an effort to appreciate the fervor of those who support “sanctity of life” issues
stand with immigrants in this nation of immigrants
uphold the newly-won rights of our gay sisters and brothers
protect Muslim friends and neighbors in this nation which espouses freedom of religion
partner with people of color in a land once shackled by Jim Crow
fight to protect our one and only planet as climate continues to change

What would you add? Which tasks call to you? Do they seem mutually exclusive? The task(s) to which you could devote the next four years might be on this list.

Be bold. Be strong and courageous. We are more than what happened to us. We are more than our worst collective decisions.

.huge-it-share-buttons {
border:0px solid #0FB5D6;
border-radius:5px;


text-align:right; }

#huge-it-share-buttons-top {margin-bottom:0px;}
#huge-it-share-buttons-bottom {margin-top:0px;}

.huge-it-share-buttons h3 {
font-size:25px ;
font-family:Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif;
color:#666666;

display:block; line-height:25px ;

text-align:right; }


.huge-it-share-buttons ul {
float:right; }

.huge-it-share-buttons ul li {
margin-left:3px !important;
margin-right:3px !important;
padding:0px;
border:0px ridge #E6354C;
border-radius:11px;
background-color:#14CC9B;
width:auto !important;
}

.huge-it-share-buttons ul li #backforunical8747 {
border-bottom: 0;
background-image:url('http://www.rutheverhart.com/wp-conten...
width:30px;
height:30px;
}


Share This:

The post We Are More Than What Happens To Us appeared first on Ruth Everhart.