Trump and Oxytocin

Early this morning Donald Trump was elected president.  Most immediately, this is test of our oxytocin levels, of our ability to keep love and empathy alive.

We cannot put conditions on life. We cannot coach or nag it into giving us what we want. The morning of the election I was filled with triumphant joy, a feeling that I knew (in some deep place) might be false.

If people were unable to feel joy and love under bad rulers, if they were unable to find spiritual shelter in political storms, the human race would have died out long ago. And yet here we stand, uncertain in the changing light.

We can never know the full consequences of any event. Some good may come out of Trump’s election. In fact this may prove to be the breaking point we need; perhaps we have finally hit bottom. Or perhaps Trump will govern from the center to some extent, as improbable as that sounds.

As I adjusted the stop-loss orders on my securities in the small hours of the morning, I reflected that it is quite strange to continue to try to make money (or to lose money slowly), in this situation. But anyone with a job must generally show up for work the day after a terrible disaster. Only for the deaths of family members does capitalism grudgingly make an exception to this rule.

If the markets will be open, then I must be ready, if only to sell everything. But in general I do not sell. I tighten some stop-loss orders, and sell one security to protect a profit. I hear owls hooting outside in the trees. We may lose all the progress Obama made on climate change, we will probably lose Obamacare and maybe Social Security and Medicare as well. I wonder how I am to get healthcare without Medicare. Perhaps I could go to Ecuador.

But I let the Ecuador idea drift away; after all, this is the country where my grandparents are buried. Tomorrow is another day, and I must take whatever opportunities the market—and the universe—offer.

And tomorrow we have one more day to show our love, and to present our natural dignity and grace to the world.

Author: socialistinvestor

I believe the debate between capitalism and socialism is not over. I hope these little essays are informative and funny; I am certain they will occasionally make you feel more human. The first post, "A State of Mind," is the introduction, and the rest are in chronological order, the newest first. Readers are free to browse, but I recommend reading "A Greater Power" early on, as a re-evaluation of capitalism, and "Theories and Suffering," for my perspective on Marxist thought. I welcome comments, questions, and "likes." If you hate this, we can fight about that--oh yes! View all posts by socialistinvestor