Quite a few readers have asked a fair question. “What can ‘lil old me’ do now to try to help ameliorate the post-election blues?”

1-    Do NOT wallow in what-ifs. They do not help.

2-    Identify and “adopt” a non-college educated person—from your home town or wherever and seriously try to get to know him/her. You will both soon discover that you pull your pants on one leg at a time.

3-    Identify and adopt a high school kid and encourage and advise and help him/her find and go to college and stay with it.

4-    Pay your taxes on time and send a letter to the WH saying: “I just paid my taxes. Did you? And when will we see your tax returns?”

5-    Talk to strangers on buses and trains and share your hopes and dreams.

6-    Join your favorite public interest organization—say, global warming—and get more involved and try to reduce your carbon foot print!

7-    Do not let the crude adage “getting rich is the best revenge” mislead you. You need to double down on your public engagement.

8-    When you hear of someone in trouble, see if there is something you can do to help. Stand up against racism, sexism and every other -ism that stains our nation

9-     Start now to help one or more Senators in their reelection or election hopes in 2018. 24 Democrats need to be reelected and 8 Republicans. Switching 4 Republicans would make a giant difference to the future of the Supreme Court in particular.

10-     Identify and get seriously involved in the career of a current member of the House of Representatives around age 35 who you think has promise as a national leader.

If you can self-direct yourself into doing any reasonable part of this list –think what nearly 60,000,000 like-minded people might accomplish for the country and the world.

That is why this wakeup call ‘could’ prove to have been useful in due course.

All that said, at the first signs of any pre WWII-style arbitrary misuses of power, all hopeful bets have to be dropped immediately, and David Brooks prediction today in the NY Times that Trump may be gone in a year may be right? So be prepared for that crisis too.