Care for Your Neighbor after the Election

The post below was first published on November 9, 2016, on the Institute's previous webpage, and has been slightly adapted. 

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Not very different from the morning after a tornado or hurricane blasts through a community, Americans from all sides of the political and theological terrain this morning wake up both to assess damage done, and also, who and what has survived. Like in the aftermath of a disaster, you may be surprised by who has come through seemingly unscathed as well as who has came through significantly wounded. Already, faith-based leaders have reached out to ICTG asking for advice on how to attend to the “election trauma” in and around their congregations. Schools and businesses are facing similar questions related to their staffs, students, and constituents. These requests are not entirely surprising after seeing the remarkable election results [of 2016]. Vote tallies confirm our country is nearly equally split, not in only one or two key states but in a majority of states. We are a divided country. And that remains the case four years later.
 
Whoever you voted for, wherever is your political home, we each wake up this morning with an imperative to get to know our neighbor more and to understand more of what they felt was most at stake in the [2016] election so we may attend more adequately to one another. The imperative is not just because, after all, so many people feel right now they did not actually know their fellow citizens well or what mattered most to them. No, we must get to know one another more because a vast number of our fellow citizens are wounded today [in 2016]. If we do not attend to these wounds now, the wounds within our country only continue to fester. And now, in 2021, we bear witness to some of the ways they have festered. We also bear witness to the ways the prejudices and biases coursing through our country have been degrading our democracy. 
 
Traumatologists know well, we cannot simply move on after severe losses or sudden and remarkable gains. We cannot simply forget the stress these experiences cause among individuals and groups of people. We cannot simply pretend the vast numbers of wounded are not really wounded. Congregations, schools, businesses, and community-based groups can play significant roles in the restorative work needed in the coming weeks.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Self-care is critical. Take time to pay attention to how you personally feel about the election (whether celebratory or defeated) and attend to those reactions. Here are a few ways to do that: Take a day off. Exercise. Talk with people who care about you and be honest with them about how you are feeling, not just about the election but also about what you believe the results mean for you and what you care about most.
• Spiritual care can make a difference for easing stress among the community. If you are a spiritual caregiver, create safe spaces among your coworkers and service recipients to express their joys and concerns related to the election. If talking among one another safely is not possible for any reason, encourage persons you are working with to find safe places to express themselves honestly with family, friends, counselors, or other health care professionals. Help the persons you are working with to know what community resources are available for them to refer members and attenders to as personal concerns arise among the congregation and community. 
• If your group may be split along voting lines, and you believe they are in need of some reconciliation, consider hosting a few staff, congregational, our town hall meetings over the next three – four weeks. If you do this, we recommend inviting respected leaders to answer practical questions for people. Be clear about how long the meeting will last and the purpose of the meetings, including how these are informational meetings and not meetings for expressing personal anxiety or venting. According to Claremont School of Theology doctoral candidate, Joseph Kim Paxton, venting is a popular form of processing anger and aggression. He points out how research on venting shows that venting can increase measures of anger or measures of comforting behavior, depending on how it is expressed. Honor the fact that people gathering in these meetings may be experiencing personal anxiety, anger, frustration, or fear, and point them in directions where they can receive care and attention. These types of informational meetings, that remain focused on safely reviewing practical and helpful information and processing in comforting ways, can help to metabolize a lot of built up energy in the organizational systems, help members get to know each other more, also help provide useful information for everyone, and even foster opportunities for reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing.
• Host prayer meetings, or encourage small groups to be in prayer for one another, the community, and the country.
• Be mindful that this 2016 election brought up past traumas for many people who have now had those experiences reopened. Some of those experiences include: loss of jobs and careers, loss of savings, loss of housing, loss of businesses, loss of country, sexual abuse and assault, hate crimes, and severe bullying. The election also incited fears about the future for many, including: fear of increasing taxes on already stressed personal economies, fear of bullying, fear of abuse or assault, fear of loss of jobs or deportation, fear of loss of healthcare, to name just some. Create spaces – liturgically, in pastoral counseling, and among fellowship events – for people to express their senses of loss or fear and to consider together practical steps forward. Remind your coworkers, ministry leaders, and care leaders of what steps to take if someone expresses symptoms and is in need of immediate professional care.
• Likely, many people will experience fatigue in the coming days and weeks, along with any other symptoms, that arise due to senses of loss or rising fears. Encourage people to practice good self-care and to seek out mental health professionals as needed. Also, consider creating additional opportunities to gather for fellowship and service projects.
• Identify ways your group can experience relief from concerns, whether in small ways or large ways. Allow people to express honestly what they understand to be at stake and how they feel things can progress in better ways.