From Fear and Despair to Hope and Action: Navigating American Politics

Reflections on the 2016 and 2024 elections, with actionable strategies for readers who feel anger, fear, and hopelessness—and a path forward to meaningful change.

Introduction

Election Day in 2016 - November 8 - is a day I will never forget. After months of following that year’s presidential election campaign, I was ready for an evening filled with excitement and hope, expecting to witness the election of America’s first female president. Instead, it was a night filled with anger, fear and despair.

Eight years later, it happened again. On November 5, 2024, America elected Trump to lead us for four more years. And on January 20, 2025, he was sworn in for his second term.

This time, after having witnessed a live-streamed genocide for over 14 months, I was prepared for the outcome of our depraved political process.

While my experiences in local politics since 2016 has helped me gain significant perspective that affected my reaction, I know there are many who are experiencing the same fears, anxiety, disgust, hopelessness and anger I felt eight years ago, today. They want answers on how to move forward and I write this in hopes that it will help them.

Personal Journey (2016 to 2024)

I remember watching the 2016 Democratic National Convention and feeling inspired by the diversity. I beamed with pride and was filled with hope listening to the soaring rhetoric during the perfectly choreographed nightly speeches.

I consider Trump to be one of the most reprehensible human beings. From the day he rode down that escalator on June 16, 2015, to announce his candidacy, I never imagined this country would elect him president after all the horrible things he said about immigrants, Black Americans, women, and people with disabilities—not to mention his own deplorable past actions.

I never thought in a million years that he would be elected president, so the outcome was devastating. I was horrified at the prospect of him overseeing the country for the next four years. I was angry that so many people would affirmatively pick him despite his words and past deeds. I was filled with disgust that after experiencing what I considered at the time to be an exemplary, steady, and immensely competent leadership for eight years under the Obama presidency, that we would be subjected to the rule under the epitome of mediocrity. I have since reassessed by views about the Obama presidency, but more on that later.

That night I felt a growing pit in my stomach reflecting fear and anxiety of the unknown future. I was scared for my family and those around me. I was in mourning because it felt like a close family member died.

For the subsequent weeks I tried to make sense of the outcome. Trump made so many racist remarks about immigrants and he associated himself with many who shared his beliefs. So my conclusion was that those who elected him – majority white Americans – were indifferent to his racism at best or shared his beliefs at worst.

It was a truly isolating period discovering that half the country did not find his rhetoric on a whole host of issues disqualifying.

I sought for answers on how to get out of the despair I felt. I recall one day asking an elder who was active during the civil rights movement about how folks managed to go through their challenges during the civil rights era and his response was “hope.”

Lessons Learned About American Politics

I want to share two important points that took me eight years to learn, which may save the reader a lot of heartache. First, understand that electoral politics will not save us. Second, we have very little control over our government at all levels. It is bought and paid for.

Nevertheless, I had always held out hope that this system is redeemable and if we just worked to elect good people things will start changing for the better. Unfortunately, that hope was shattered when those in power at all levels of government could not call out the clear and indisputable evil being committed by America and apartheid Israel for over 15 months.

I have been involved in local organizing for eight years. The 2016 elections marked the beginning of the end of my uncritical allegiance to the Democratic Party. Like many who followed the Obama years, I was oblivious to the insidious and treacherous ways of the Democratic Party. In a way Obama’s presidency helped obfuscate the clearly problematic trends of the direction of the party. Obama’s role in advancing neoliberalism and providing cover for a truly rotten system that was broken cannot be overstated.

These past eight years in local and community organizing were a period of steady education accelerated by the first live-streamed genocide in history beginning October 2023. They helped me question my beliefs and assumptions about politics and how government works. To clearly identify who is responsible for the decay and rot.

If we are to get out of this dysfunctional system we have to understand our limitations and what we need to do to overcome them. Put simply, those who want change more meaningful than mere crumbs—labelled as “reforms”—must realize that we currently lack the electoral power to achieve these changes.

I have been in rooms where over 100 Howard County residents testified at the Human Rights Commission calling on the Commission to draft a simple ceasefire resolution with zero opposing testimonies and where the Commission declined to do so.

I have witnessed several zoning and land use decisions where, despite overwhelming public testimony in support of a beneficial legislation or against an adverse one, the County Council or Zoning Board voted against the public interest and in favor of corporate developers.

The past 15 months have been extremely eye opening for many of us — grappling with the depravity of this government and our institutions as they fund the Gaza genocide has been horrifying to witness.

This horror is compounded with the shocking realization of the level to which other institutions have failed — from civil rights groups to nonprofits to faith-based institutions. It seems like everyone is looking after their own perceived interests. In fact, when Kamala was selected by the war machine, we noticed patterns emerge as certain factions attempted to sow division between Palestinian and Black liberation groups.

The broader society is plagued with apathy and indifference due to years of conditioning with the notion that we lack collective power. Of course many of us are also afraid to lose our material interests and wealth choosing the status quo over fundamental shifts in our society that would eradicate sources of suffering for many.

The overwhelming majority of voters in Howard County are registered Democrats. When I ran for Board of Education I spoke to countless voters who were concerned about book banning. They were against such discriminatory practices.

Yet, there is a small bigoted group called “Moms for Liberty” that frequently attends BOE meetings and testifies against inclusive books and curriculum. These actions fuel so-called “anti Moms for Liberty” groups and often prompt Board of Education members and Teacher’s Union representatives to speak out so vociferously against these oppressive groups.

While they spoke up against such forms of censorship efforts, they were silent and turned a blind eye toward censorship by school administrators when high school children were prevented from organizing successful walkouts in protest of the Gaza genocide.

Anyone who is principally opposed to censorship must speak out against all of its forms and stand in solidarity with those who are marginalized unconditionally.

But that is not what we are witnessing today and unless we correct course we risk losing the allies who would come to our defense.

Arguably, these so-called allies are engaged in performative acts of solidarity with the marginalized. If they truly stand for the safety and security of LGBTQ+ children in those anti moms for liberty groups are they doing so for all LGBTQ+ children or just the white ones? Does their solidarity transcend class?

The marginalized in our community, children of color attend some of the schools in the worst conditions with large class sizes and dilapidated facilities. They face incredible daily challenges at home and at school. Why are these so-called allies not rooting out these systemic issues by calling out zoning and land-use decisions that take away resources from these children?

Constructive Steps Forward

Initial Actions

First, find a cause to support financially. I for one am skeptical of nonprofits as they are normally designed to water down progressive and radical proposals. But there are certain groups that are indispensable and need our support now more than ever. One of the first actions I took after I pulled myself together in 2016 was to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union. There are other groups worthy of our support such as Heal Palestine, which helps those who are hurt because of the polices of our government.

Next, search for groups and organizations you can join in your community. I called around to inquire how and where I can get involved in my community. I attended various meetings hosted by the local Democratic Party, I joined the Howard County chapter of the NAACP and attended meetings organized by various community members and helped form a group called Indivisible Howard County. Ultimately these groups were a letdown, but mainly because their efforts were about self-interest rather than solidarity.

Attend any local meetings and webinars with an open mind. In Howard County, the Democratic Party and other affiliated left leaning groups organized such meetings. It is important to be cautious of the organized political parties and this open mind is especially important to critically inspect the talking points and narratives offered.

While electoral politics won’t save us, we must use all the tools at our disposal to push for change. A common criticism lodged against Green Party candidates is that they are normally absent between election years. We must remember that if we want viable alternatives to the two death cult political parties, we must be willing to spend time and energy building those alternative parties. So one action people can take is to join other political parties locally and help build them.

Build Solidarity

Early in 2024, I participated in a public hearing where a PTA mom was testifying about the terrible conditions in one of the local schools where the bathrooms were in such bad shape that the ratio of students to bathroom stalls exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. The mother was outraged and demanded action to rectify egregious condition. Ironically my testimony was regarding the horrible sanitary conditions in Gaza where the ratio people to bathrooms exceeded 400 to 1. The PTA mom was a nurse.

This is just one of many observations and instances of selective outrage and lack of solidarity.

Unless we begin to see these issues as interconnected and speak out principally for ALL the marginalized, we fail to prevent injustice and endanger our own safety and security.

Read the poem "First they came" by Pastor Martin Niemoller. You do not want the evil to come to you before you stop it. Our humanity is shared and we have a responsibility to call out evil and injustice no matter where it is.

Engage in Intense Political Education

The two major political parties spend billions of dollars on marketing and branding. They clash on cultural issues and rile up their respective base to turn them out every two years. Meanwhile, both parties advance corporate friendly policies.

Both in 2016 and 2024, the Democratic Party refuses to take accountability for its failures that led to losing to a deplorable candidate. An overwhelming majority of Americans support affordable healthcare, privacy, diversity, responsible gun ownership, a woman’s right to chose and a whole host of other issues. The voters need to ask why the Democratic Party fails to stand up for these policies other than offer performative acts. The answer is simple: the Democratic Party refuses to advance these polices in an unequivocal way because it is beholden to the wealthy.

There is a decay in our political system, but it did not start in 2016. It did not even start in 2001. American politics has always been rotten. Since its inception, America has catered to the needs of the white majority voter. People of color saw some progress over the last few decades thru reforms that failed to address deep inequities.

The forms of oppression are reincarnated in different forms. Slave labor turned to prison labor. Lynchings turned to police shootings. Black children continue to get poisoned due to drinking from lead pipes and attend schools in the most horrible conditions.

Meanwhile, America continues to be at the center of some of the most deadly geopolitical events. For example, America backs right wing political parties and military coups in South America that lead to destabilization and collapse of societies thereby increasing the flow of undocumented immigrants. These immigrants are then vilified and made the object resentment for economic failures primarily caused by politicians and corporations who played a role in the destabilization of those nations.

This has taken place under both Democratic and Republican administrations. While Republicans have not hidden their motives, Democrats were much more sinister and successfully laundered their reputation and image thanks in no small measure to eight years under Obama, who successfully disguised the aims and goals of America’s corporations.

The disconnect between the well-off and the working class (regardless of race) is stark. Howard County is one of the wealthiest counties in the country. While the political establishment purports to stand for diversity, equity, and inclusion, we see significant inequity in our community due to segregation and disinvestment thru zoning and land use policies that favor developers.

If voters want real meaningful change instead of superficial reforms, we need political education that cuts through the noise to help us see the futility of continuing to support the two corporate parties.

Conclusion

To those who feel despair, fear, and anger today, my advice is to take action. Nothing will change without active role and participation of the voter. Action will fuel hope, and our collective push for justice everywhere will propel us toward a society that values life and chooses to invest in educating our children rather than slaughtering them.