Finding Fellow Liberals: A Success Story

My wife and I are retired and living in a newer over-55 community off Hwy 61. Like most people who consider themselves liberal people, we were greatly depressed at the specter of another Trump presidency. In the days that followed the election we could not entirely shake that hollow feeling of depression which reminded us of how we felt after the 9/11 attack on New York and Washington. We also remembered how a number of friends congregated at our home that evening to commiserate over those horrific events. It simply felt better to be with people who could share your despondent emotions.

And so, a few days after the election, we decided to contact a few of our "secret liberal" friends to share our feeling of gloom. We invited them over, to find solace in a like-minded group of friends. There were about eight of us that first evening, and with the help of appetizers and wine we found a degree of comfort sharing our common misery.

Suspecting that things were going to get much worse for our country as Trump began to take control, we all decided to get together again in a few weeks and invite a few more kindred spirits to join us. We also decided to rotate hosting our get-togethers (we don't call them meetings) monthly. Each host could pick a convenient date and decide on a format for the evening. On some evenings everyone is asked to bring an appetizer, at other times the host prefered people to arrive after dinner and the host would provide desserts for everyone. Of course, everyone is expected to bring wine to share. A few months ago the host screened an excellent film about political oppression in South America, and another time we watched a short documentary about Senator Joseph McCarthy and how extreme right-wing McCarthyism paralyzed our country in the 1950's.

Regardless of the format, we always engage in a group discussion so everyone can share their feelings about what is happening to our country. There are now about 30 of us and as new people in our community are identified they are welcomed. We also have differing levels of activism. Many have gotten together, made signs, and marched in the recent protests. A few have volunteered to work on Take 98, and some prefer simply to be part of the group get-togethers which is fine.

Call it political group therapy, or use any analogy you prefer, but meeting once a month with our fellow liberals has become a social/political event which somehow channels our anger and gives us the strength to cope with seeing our beloved country decline into right-wing authoritarianism.

END NOTE: If you're reading this post and wishing you could be part of our group, please reach out to me at jjsafay@gmail.com and I'll be happy to fill you in on the details.