Columns

Television coverage showed people dancing in the streets in cities across the U.S. Newscasters commented that it was similar to what people do in third world countries when a cruel dictator is removed from power. And, indeed, Trump seemed to resemble another oppressive dictator. He managed to seize power and began to unravel the system of checks and balances in the U.S. that are intended to never allow something like him to happen. He was mean and nasty. He had no regard for the good of the country or its people and instead, his Presidency was all about him. 

And it isn't over yet. 

How did this influence Americans? In my case, it has been a struggle to hang onto my hard-fought sanity. I have a mental illness, and it includes a strong tendency toward paranoia. How is a person not to be paranoid when someone like Trump is in power? 

I am still waiting to see how it will play out with the physical removal of Trump from the White House. I feel a lot of uncertainty about this. Since many people with mental illness have exaggerated versions of reality, some might feel that Trump, in response to his impending removal, will try to create some kind of doomsday situation. Yet I don't really believe this will happen; it is a product of an overactive imagination. 

Trump does not have a psychiatric condition to fall back on. He should be credited with complete responsibility for everything he says and does. We have more than two months before the inauguration. In an ideal scenario, Trump would do the right thing and bring some relief to Americans in the form of a stimulus package. He would also take some steps toward combatting the virus. This is his legacy. This is history in the making. Trump is creating a name of infamy for himself. 

Meanwhile, people with disabilities have hope. Biden was the first to include the word "disability" in a major, formal speech--his acceptance speech. I have a piece that appears in the Street Spirit this month that refers to the lack of political representation of disabled people. So, to hear the incoming President acknowledge people with disabilities is a tremendously wonderful thing. 

A friendly government is better for persons with mental illness than a hostile government. When I've felt a looming hostility and bad intent emanating from government agencies, it provokes additional paranoid symptoms. Switching to a government that wants to help people is salve for a longstanding wound.