Yup! Been living here a lil bit now, love it
What do you mean with your rights being affected by the results? Is something huge going to change depending on the next president?
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Your rights? The way I see it it doesn’t matter who is running the country I still go to work I still get paid I still have a roof over my head.
That’s all that matters to me.
What others rights are there?
And I’m not in the least bit religious either but something I’ve found is that to get sober one needs an open mind.
If we keep winding ourselves up with things that are out of our control it causes all sorts of resentment and pain that usually lead to hitting the fuck it button.
But you do you.
I’ll do me.
I’m happy just living my life with the rights I have and my two years sobriety.
Good luck
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There are plenty of people whose lives will be affected in big and small ways by the presidential election, including outside the us. For instance:
— if the scheduled Trump 2021 tax hikes go ahead, a lot of people already on the edge of poverty will be suddenly much poorer
— a lot of people will lose health insurance, with no plan to replace it. If you have a body, it affects you
—goodbye, women’s reproductive rights
— goodbye, lbgt rights
—if you are the child of undocumented immigrants, your chance of being deported to a country you’ve never been to just went way up, and if you’re a child refugee, you’re going in a cafe; goodbye, mommy
— if you’re black or brown, your chance of being incarcerated or killed by police increases
— if you would like your kids to live in a habitable planet, the likelihood goes down with every leader who does nothing on climate change
—if you’d like your kids to be educated, or any kids to be educated, or you’re enmeshed in decades of college debt, it affects you
— if you like the idea of democratic norms rights freedom of press and non partisan justice, it affects you
But yes: we also control only our own selves.
I often think about Epictetus, the ancient philosopher who was enslaved. When his enslaver was beating him, he calmly said, if you keep doing that, you’ll break my leg. He did. It broke. He said, I told you it would break. So I’m just saying: there’s a lot that can break. We can still stay sober. But we need to tell the truth.
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I moved some posts to this thread as they seemed to be more about finding it hard to stay sober through challenging times.
Lets keep it focused on that… There is a separate political discussion thread for anyone who wishes to engage with that side of things, discuss the potential implications of various policies etc 
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My 13 yo is anxious for results too. I explained to her that it’s important that we go through the entire tedious process, including recounts and any legal challenges, because at the end of it, both sides must be able to agree on who actually won. Otherwise, one side will spend the next four years believing the side in power is illegitimate.
A famous quote goes something like this: “Our liberties rest on four boxes, to be used in the following order: the soap box (freedom of speech), the ballot box (voting), the jury box (rule of law), and the cartridge box (revolution)”.
The order of use is everything, and the next box cannot be opened, until the previous box is completely empty, as the consequences of use increase greatly as the order progresses.
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I’m sorry for being too explicitly political. @siand right that this thread should be individuate from general political discussion.
I think it speaks to a big issue for all of us: the things we can change and the things we can’t. I can change myself. I can choose to be sober, and I can also choose how I vote, and how I learn about politics, and how I look at the world and other people and community and responsibility and kindness. I can choose how I use my various platforms (soapboxes as @Yoda-Stevie says ), to maybe influence my students, my readers, my acquaintances and friends. I can March or peacefully protest, if I feel things are badly wrong. I can volunteer or donate or call senators. More soapboxes. But I can’t change other people and I can’t change the past. I can choose to be angry and upset, if there are things I don’t agree with, or I can choose to be calm, sober, patient, proactive, well informed and kind, and harness an awareness of problems to legitimate helpful kinds of action.
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It is unlikely to have much direct impact on straight, white, cis men. But for those in more marginal groups, it can have a huge impact, including on ability to work, housing, healthcare.
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Ok, I stand corrected. Seems I’m considered in the " bad" group there then.
I’ll shut up
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Where did I say that? If that’s you’re you choose to interpret my words, that’s up to you. But those are not the words I used.
Well you labelled me!
Ariel, you know I’m for everyone to have the proper rights!
I personally don’t see myself in that group. I don’t see myself in any “group”.
I realise what is going on in the world, but it’s not an excuse to drink.
Otherwise I’d be drunk still.
That was the gist of my message.
Nothing more.
I didn’t make any reference to you. I explained that there are some groups of people that are unlikely to be impacted, and others that are likely to be significantly impacted. There was no mention of you or any other individual in what I wrote, nor any judgement passed on any person or group of people.
Ok, I apologise.
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I hope you know that I have tremendous respect for you 
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Still not an excuse to drink though.
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Haha, that makes me laugh Ariel. You are one of MY HEROES!,
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100% yes 
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Seconded. There is never a reason to drink, there is nothing resolved by taking a drink. If anything, it has the opposite effect.
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So good to see you back!.. I’m sorry you’re struggling however😔
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