Polls show increasing amounts of Americans are worried about the health of our democracy.
I’m one of them. Hearing political leaders call for extreme acts of violence towards those they
deem their enemy is terribly frightening. And it’s certainly undemocratic. That’s to say nothing
of policy proposals that seek to create greater inequality and disparage difference. But if I’m
being honest, I have used incredibly violent language against myself. I have treated myself as
unequal, lesser than, not as capable, and have definitely not celebrated my difference.

While I wish I could control the outcome of the election I cannot. What I can do is work on
building democracy inside myself. What I mean is practicing valuing treating myself as equal yet
different and worthy of value. When I harshly attack myself and compare myself to others, I’m
not practicing democratic values. When I tell myself I’m not as capable or attractive or
whatever nonsense I can come up with, I’m contributing to an internal undemocratic state.

If you’re worried about the health of our democracy too, I invite you to get curious with
yourself about the ways in which you could create a healthier internal system. This is what you
CAN do in the midst of so much chaos and turmoil in our world that we just can’t control.

Ask yourself:

–Am I harshly comparing myself to others? Can I never quite measure up?
–Once I achieved something, do I then just set the bar even higher? Not taking time to
celebrate myself?
–Am I violent with myself in the way I exercise and eat?
–If I’m a creative, do I tell myself my art isn’t “creative enough”? Or that I’m not a “real
creative” because I don’t make money at it?
–If I’m aging, do I take the time to celebrate all that I have accomplished in my life or am I
focused on what our society tells us is bad about aging?
–When I experience myself as different while in a work meeting, can I take time internally to
recognize all that I know as a result of my difference? Or can I only access the self-conscious,
self-hating part?
–Can I acknowledge that to live in this world that hates difference, I am my own role model.

Audre Lorde said, “Self-care is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation and it is an act of
political warfare.” I believe this idea of creating an internal democratic state is what she meant.
Taking care of our bodies — that have historically been outcasted, physically attacked, and
threatened with death and/or murdered — is most certainly an act of political warfare. Resist by
believing – and practicing – that your body and mind of worthy of your own care.