Tips for surviving Biden’s ‘dark winter’
Former United Nations ambassador Susan Rice, slated to become the Domestic Policy Council chief if Joe Biden assumes the White House next month, is warning that COVID-19 outbreak “is not the big one” and that a future pandemic could be worse.
“In the Obama administration, as I said, we had the 2009 swine flu; we had the Ebola epidemic that could have been a global pandemic; we had the Zika virus, as you’ll remember, so we were very prime to this risk. We knew that we hadn’t had the big one,” Rice said during a virtual event organized by Stevenson University’s speaker series.
“And by the way, I hate to be a downer here, but this is not the big one, either. This, sorry, but, you know, this would be the big one if it had the kind of mortality rates that you can get with a virulent avian flu. We have a mortality rate of, you know, 2 to 3%, roughly, now for COVID, which is — and you see how deadly that is when it’s not under control. Imagine if it were that much higher,” she added.
Rice, who lied to the American public about what sparked the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks, claiming it was due to a YouTube video, is picking up where Biden left off in the last presidential debate in which he warned Americans, “We’re about to go into a dark winter. A dark winter.”
Dr. Timothy Daughtry, a corporate leadership consultant who has a Ph.D. in psychology, said in a time of crisis or difficulty, leaders have a responsibility to tell people the truth, but then follow that up with a credible plan for dealing with it. Daughtry is concerned that Biden and other Democrats have created a lot of fear during Covid.
“If you generate too much fear during difficult times, it can lead to panic,” Daughtry explained. “It can lead to poor decisions and frankly, it’s exhausting when people have been afraid for month after month. It’s just psychologically wearing.”
In addition to feeling beat down from months of Covid lockdowns and restrictions, three out of four Republicans are now feeling beat down again by what they believe is a stolen election. Daughtry offers three suggestions for avoiding mental and emotional exhaustion of what will surely be four long years of negative news from a potential Biden administration.
1. Avoid steady diet of negative, fear-inducing news
Daughtry said it’s important to be aware that a constant diet of fear and negativity is emotionally draining and is going to produce a sense of helplessness. Practically speaking, that means getting your news from a variety of sources and not relying on any single one source or expert for your information.
2. Focus on what we can control
“There will always be bad things that we cannot control,” Daughtry said. “That’s just part of life.” But he said a healthy response is to focus on things we can control or influence. “There’s a lot of things we are going to see on the news in the coming years, that we won’t like, but there’s nothing we can do about them,” he added.
Daughtry suggests finding ways we can contribute, rather than simply complain. “The more that you begin to feel that you can have an effect and a positive effect on the people and situations around you, the healthier you are going to feel,” he said.
3. Stay connected to like-minded friends
Daughtry said given the political division in the country, it’s important to remember that isolation is emotionally draining and demoralizing. “Keep connected with people, especially other people who share your world views and your values. Otherwise, there’s a risk of believing that you are the only one who thinks this way, the only one who shares these concerns. Stay in touch with your network and people get through difficult times when they do things like that,” Daughtry concluded.
4. Remain hopeful
Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning added that it is important to remain hopeful. “We cannot be dragged down by fear and despair,” Manning said. “Joe Biden may have stolen this election, but we will not let him steal our resolve. We are patriots and we will always fight for our country. We will prevail.”
Catherine Mortensen is Vice President of Communications at Americans for Limited Government.
