I am trying to order them in the severity, from the most serious to the least serious.
Sept 11, 2001: terrorist flew airplanes to the twin towers in the NYC. Sept-11 had profound impact on the America society in my opinion. Before 9-11 I could go to STL Lambert International Airport and meet my friends at the gate. Air travel has changed forever after that, in terms of airport and airplane security. Perhaps more important but less relevant for more Americans: the two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq respectively. I talked it a bit more on this topic here.
I vividly remember that evening, at some gas stations, the line became long – as some people were panicking and were afraid of not being able to get gas. Also, at the time I lived very close to the STL Lambert International Airport, and I used to hear/see the airplanes every day, and the sky became quiet for a few days.
January 6, 2021: riots stormed the US capitol.
Nov 8, 2016, and Nov 5, 2024: on both occasions I was surprised by the election results. On 11-08-2016 I was a bit worried that as Chinese immigrant that I may need to get ready if anything happens to me or my family: aka move to Canada etc.
January 20, 2025: pardon of the rioters of 01-06-2021: some of those people violently attacked capitol police on that day. And they wanted to hang the VP Mike Pence.
Not related to the USA, 2008 Sichuan earthquake, happened on 05-12-2008, the year Summer Olympics was held in Beijing. I recall I usually didn’t go to church, and my wife was relatively new to the USA, we went to the Chinese Christian Church for a service shortly after the tragedy.
How to cope
This is probably the more important part. I briefly touched upon it above. I do recall on 09-11-2001, I did think about going to the church across the street from our apartment complex (campus) too. But I didn’t end up going.
Social media and Internet: nowadays, with the proliferation or perhaps more precisely ubiquitous nature of social media, I think it’s important for me to reduce social media and news consumption. Basically, turn out from Trump and Musk, as much as practical. Don’t watch TV. If I need to listen, I can listen to NPR or something. Note this is also one of my new year resolutions.
Along the same lines, don’t think too much or take Trump admin too seriously – I think Ken Kousen explain it very well here at Bluesky. Let me quote some below:
The current decision makers in the US are not monsters. Monsters are strong and scary.
They’re just assholes. Greedy, whiny, pathetic assholes, the type of people who, if you met them at a party, would make you roll your eyes, mutter “What an asshole”, and walk away, never to speak to them again.
Take care of self: exercise. Yoga. Group exercise at the J. Walk, jogging or run outside. Keep in mind things are not going to turn at least in the next 2 years. I am planning to be healthy and play the long game here.
Try practice stoicism (Wikipedia): here is one YT video Aristotle’s guide to the good life | Nicomachean Ethics and another YT video The Worst Advice On The Internet I watched on this topic recently. There are a lot more videos on YT and there are certainly a lot of books, and blog posts too.
Last but not least, think about how much you or your family rely on the US government: I mean the federal government. It could be an industry or job you work at: for example, I heard Trump’s new executive order paused all the grants for NIH: national institute of health. In other words, if you work on projects or your pay check is dependent on the NIH grant: once the current grant is running out, you will likely lose your job. So it’s a good time to go out and look for another job, or thinking about driving for Uber: you may refer to my Uber driving tips blog post if you are intereted 🙂
Reference:
‘Focus on what’s important’: Bernie Sanders on how to oppose Trump