The past few months have been politically tumultuous, to say the least. 

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Geopolitical volatility, waves of tariff threats, misinformation and angry rhetoric from political leaders, talk of a looming recession, lost jobs and the continued trend toward authoritarianism in the U.S. are but a few of the issues facing us in this moment. Add to the mix the climate crisis, the ongoing wars and global conflicts, and the air around us suddenly feels tinged with an Orwellian climate of fear. 

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And fear ‘trumps’ reason every time, right? Almost. Panic inducing headlines may have become the daily norm, but there are reasons for optimism.  What gives me hope is looking back at history–at the crises of the past that were overcome. As Tyler Austin Harper writes in his 2024 essay for The New York Times, The 100-Year Extinction Panic Is Back, Right on Schedule,  "Nearly every generation has thought its generation was to be the last, and yet the human species has persisted. As a character in Jeanette Winterson’s novel “The Stone Gods” says, “History is not a suicide note — it is a record of our survival.” 

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We are, after all, still here. We are survivors, innovators, collaborators, dreamers. 

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So, while there are plenty of valid reasons to worried about the current state of politics at home and around the globe, the primary reason for optimism is to remember that the future is not pre-determined.  You have the power to affect change, the power to act. 

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The impulse to either stick our collective heads in the sand or succumb to dystopian thinking can be both understandable and compelling–because in either scenario we feel temporarily absolved of a responsibility to act–but it’s not helpful. As Austin Harper puts it, “The first step is to refuse to indulge in certainty, the fiction that the future is foretold.” 

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Closely connected to step one is not buying into the perceived notion of moral decline that seems to have gripped so many so strongly–including, but not limited to, Trump’s nostalgia politics. As Adam Mastroianni writes in an article based on his PhD Dissertation, The Illusion of Moral Decline, ​ “If you really think that people are less kind than they used to be, you are alleging a disaster. Moral decline would be very, very bad. Morality is the glue that holds our society together; if that glue disappears, our society falls apart. So if that’s happening, we should do something about it right away. But if it isn’t, instead of shouting “fire!” in a crowded theater, you should zip your lips so we can all watch Paddington 2 in peace2.” For an injection of science-based hopefulness, I strongly suggest reading Mastroianni’s article in Experimental History here and the original paper in Nature here. Spoiler alert, humans are likely not in a state of moral decline.

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In short, headlines and media will always have the power to induce panic (in both people and financial markets) – and both will temporarily wobble when bombarded with inflammatory rhetoric and sensationalism. But our core values and long-term fundamentals don’t change.  

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While it may still knock us sideways in the moment, the key to overcoming political anxiety is to stay grounded and make the shift from fear to perspective.  In moments of political volatility, it is possible not only to endure, but to position ourselves and our communities so that we can evolve, benefit and thrive. ​​​