Fighting despair

I’ve spent the past couple of years refusing to follow the details of the political situation immediately to the south of us. To the frustration of many of our friends, I have also declined to engage in lengthy conversations about what would happen if Donald Trump were to become the president of the United States for a second term. More than once, I was accused of burying my head in the sand and told I should be paying attention. Maybe, maybe not.

My position was that, since there was nothing I could do to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, I was not going to let myself get dragged down into an all-too-familiar slough of despond by thinking and talking about the many horrors that could lie ahead.

Rather, I’ve chosen to focus my attention and energy where I think I can have some impact: on the issue of violence against women in the context of municipal, provincial and federal politics here in Canada. There’s plenty of room for both despond and action there. No need to borrow more despair about problems I can’t do anything about.

Well, now the inevitable has happened in the United States, and things are even worse than I could have possibly imagined. I’ve been almost paralyzed with both grief and outrage as, day after day, one shocking announcement follows another. It’s a bit like living in a futuristic dystopian novel or film.

Do I feel worse than if I had been worrying about this in the preceding months? Perhaps, but I imagine any thinking person is in a similar state, and at least I spared myself months of pre-election misery.

Dread and hope

These are grim times. As I think about what upcoming provincial and federal elections are likely to bring us, I can’t remember any that have been grimmer. We need to resist and fight back, being prepared to risk more than we ever have while finding new allies and strategies.

In his recently released book, Dangerous Memory, Charlie Angus – former punk rocker turned political activist turned NDP MP (seven terms, no less), and now getting back to his political/musical roots with his band Grievous Angels – talks about the dread and hope that the world’s current situation presents:

“I think back to the eighteen-year-old who believed that ordinary people could stop a nuclear holocaust. He was convinced that boycotts and marches could bring down the South African apartheid regime just as they brought down the Berlin Wall. At the time, these goals seemed like unattainable fantasies, yet that young man embraced the fight to achieve them because the alternative of doing nothing was too much to bear. He learned that when enough people come together, what once seemed impossible becomes very possible. . . . [I]’s about being willing to try, because you know that not trying is a much, much worse alternative.

“There is a hell of a lot of work to do now. Some of that work will need to be systemic and political. But there is work that can be done in our communities, in building up our own fragile relationships and local ecosystems.”

Palomas and ping pong

He’s right, of course – there is a hell of a lot of work to do. But perhaps we can cut ourselves a bit of slack, just for a little while.

Yes, friends, it’s time for cocktails, and then we’ll get back to the barricades. This past week, my partner and I – joined on one occasion by my daughter and her partner – have been making palomas and heading to our condo games room to play some ping pong. (We weren’t sure whether we were allowed to bring alcohol into the games room, so we had a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, but the other night we discovered a bottle of Captain Morgan’s and a shot glass tucked away behind an armchair, so . .. . )

It’s proven to be just what our battered souls need right now. And, I suspect, even if you don’t have access to a ping pong table, a couple of palomas will still be helpful.

Online paloma recipes abound, but we’ve created one that has a little extra zing. Here’s how to make two Ping Pong Palomas:

Combine 4 ounces gold tequila with 6 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, 1 ounce simple syrup (make a batch to keep in the fridge by heating 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved and the liquid is clear) and 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice.

Mix well, then pour over ice and add sparkling water to taste.

Warning: Do not try to hold both a paloma and a ping pong paddle at the same time.

Gathering up

While my partner and I plan to continue with our evening ping pong games, we are not going to let ourselves remain mired in the slough of despond that has enveloped us. Soon, we’re going to gather up and regroup because, as Carsie Blanton sings:

“And don’t forget/No matter what anybody tells you/If we work together/We can overthrow capitalism.”

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