At some point soon, it will be difficult to remain in denial.

It’s a done deal.

Donald Trump will return to the White House for a second term as President.

I won’t consider all the reasons for this, except to say that, just as in 1980, I and other voters who hold similar values are more firmly in the minority than ever before in modern history. Hearts and minds were won generations ago, educational systems were weakened and poor people believed the pap the GOP and their friends at multiple conservative think tanks sold them, and all of that is a big part of how we got here.

It may not happen overnight, but I believe that an awful lot of these things will happen in the next couple of years:

— Medicaid will be drastically cut.

— Social Security will be cut, and new applicants for Social Security disability will be told not to bother filing.

— SNAP will be cut, and those who qualify for it will be told they have to work in order to get anything at all. 

— Student loan plans will be consolidated into one, harsh reality with unaffordable high payments and no forgiveness under any circumstances.

— Everyone on Medicare will be funneled into a more expensive version of Medicare that will cover far fewer medical needs.

The end result is that people will literally die for lack of access to medical care and food.

I don’t see a way out of that in my lifetime.

Unlike the many wealthy and famous people who’ve already trumpeted their plans to leave the country, I don’t have that option. I will be stuck with whatever happens here, and I will be powerless to do anything to stop it. I have no one to take me in and take care of me when I become unable to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape. 

As someone who depends on these social services in order to actually live, I know that if they all collapse  I may not survive the second Trump administration. At the very least, diminished access to healthcare will shorten my lifespan by some unknown amount.

That’s not drama. It’s fact. 

Unlike the current President, who is playing nice in his final months in office, abiding by a code of honor his opponents openly scoff at, I hold no such sense of honor anymore. I suspect I’m not alone in this. Those of us who are stuck here will do what we need to do to survive, and when we can’t survive that way anymore there is no predicting what will happen. But it will require younger, healthier people to make it happen.

So while I continue to take whatever walks and the short little rides my body can manage, to take naps when I can’t manage more, pray in the tradition of my ancestors, and hold my loved ones close while I can, I am also having some profound conversations with my mortality. I believe it’s what any sane person in my position might do.

I’ll also try to focus as much as I can on the local rather than the national or global. Because I’m here and not going anywhere else, and because at the end of the day all politics is local.

If you can, go outside and ride your bike. It will be one of the nicest things you can do for yourself during this trying time.

And be kind to each other. Just because it feels like the world is burning, we don’t have to help it along.