On being … collateral damage

By Ingrid Sapona 

With On being… I aim to write about feelings and reactions to an incident or event that I think others might also feel or be able to relate to in some way. I try not to write about politics because the column isn’t meant as a wider social commentary. Avoiding writing about politics has been especially challenging this year, as there’s been an extraordinary amount of turmoil around the world. 

That said, it’s impossible to ignore the overwhelming sadness – and anger – that I’ve felt the past few years as millions of people have become collateral damage in political battles they have no direct control over. Pictures and stories about the plight of innocents literally caught in the crossfire in the middle east, in Ukraine, in Sudan, and other war-torn regions are the most obvious – and heinous – examples of collateral damage. (Not to mention the fact that those surviving such conflicts have no place to call home any more.) 

For those of us lucky enough to not live in fear of a bomb dropping on us or our loved ones at any moment, it’s important to have perspective and to not catastrophize over the results of an election. But just the same, damage to economic interests and rights that result from political decisions others take is very definitely a form of collateral damage. Indeed, a recent article about what might happen if Trump’s planned tariffs trigger a trade war noted that Ontario’s premier fears the people of Ontario would be collateral damage. Sadly, taking a page out of Trump’s handbook, the Ontario premier’s response is to urge the Canadian government to seek a bilateral trade deal with the U.S., rather than worry about a trilateral trade deal that includes Mexico. (Maybe the premier figures Mexico will be collateral damage under the incoming U.S. administration’s trade policy anyway, so elbows up – let’s only look out for Ontarians.) 

The title on a recent opinion piece in the Washington Post sums up the way many outside the U.S. view the election results: “Americans ordered up Donald Trump. The world will foot the bill.” Though that piece focuses on trade and immigration, mention of “the world” is a nice segue to yet another aspect of collateral damage the election of Trump will inflict: damage to mother earth. The trajectory the climate is on is in need of a course correction but not of the kind that’s likely to result from policies like “drill baby drill” and doing away with environmental regulations. Putting economic interests ahead of efforts to limit climate change is perhaps the hardest thing for me to fathom. The collateral damage caused by not working to solve climate change transcends both physical borders and generations. Shortsighted does begin to express the concerns even childless women like me have about what we’re leaving future generations. 

Usually by the time I sit down to write On being… I’ve figured out a few ways of coping with the particular matter I’m writing about. But I’ve not come up with any great ideas about how to staunch the fears I have of the – shall we say ripple effects (perhaps a less charged term than collateral damage) – of the U.S. election results. I have decided to limit my diet of news (there are only so many balaclava-clad folks waving Nazi flags I can see, or hate-motivated tweets and texts that I can hear about). But that’s really just something I can do to help my sanity. 

As for combating the powerless I feel to effect broad changes, I’ve decided that focusing on doing little things to help others is better than doing nothing. I figure just being kinder and more generous with people we cross paths with is a good start. Such action may not change others’ lives, but it may remind us of our shared humanity, which seems to me a necessary first step that could lead to bigger changes. 

What about you? What are your coping strategies in light of the political situation(s) around the world? If you have any insights (other than of the “this too shall pass” variety), please share them… 

© 2024 Ingrid Sapona