REICH: Ten tips for summer political sanity

Here’s a summer survival guide, 10 ways to relax during the era of Trump.

1. Take a day off from the news, one day a week.
2. Don’t get into an argument with a Trump supporter, especially if it’s a member of your family. Remember, there are more independents and non-voters than Trump Republicans. And the 2018 midterm election will be won on the basis of turnout.
3. Pay no attention to Trump’s tweets. They’re becoming increasingly bizarre and irrelevant.
4. Watch an old movie of biting political satire, like “Wag the Dog.”
5. But don’t watch “Doctor Strangelove.”
6. Join an Indivisible group near you and take action with them, attending a congressional town meeting and organizing others to contact your members of congress. It’s having an effect. Plus, it’s therapeutic.
7. Drink lots of water and get plenty of exercise. Helps with the anger.
8. Read good books of fiction, like Harry Potter. Don’t read George Orwell’s “1984” or Sinclair Lewis’s “It Can’t Happen Here” or Philip Roth’s “The Plot Against America.”
9. Go to a county fair with your kids, and watch the pigs.
10. Have a cookout with your neighbors and see what resources you yourselves can offer to your community. Start a tool collective or teach a class in a library or out of someone’s house. Tangible change can come from your hands, not only your votes. Remember, resistance works best when people come together and work together.

Have a great summer!

Robert Reich was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton.

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