On September 11, 2001, the first thing Angelic Daughter said to me when I finally got home from work after a long ride on a packed train full of similarly shell-shocked commuters was, “The buildings fell down. The people got hurt.”
And then she started watching Mr. Rogers, non-stop, for days on end.
Thank God Mr. Rogers’ soothing presence is still there, streaming on PBS.org. For now, anyway.
When I started this blog in October of 2017, less than a year into Trump 1.0, I promised I wouldn’t write about politics. I was grieving, I was exhausted, and I didn’t think I had much to add to the vitriolic or echo-chamber political discussions bombarding me from all sides.
Now, just weeks into Trump 2.0, I’m not so much exhausted as resigned to playing the long game (as long as I have left, anyway), looking for incremental ways to claw back some decency, dignity, and respect into American civic life. I’m determined to avoid outrage fatigue and find a few ways to make some small positive difference in the maelstrom of chaos that is our collective political life right now.
You can read. You don’t need me to sound alarms or raise red flags or pump up your indignation. I figure you can hear the alarms and see the red flags and channel your indignation as you see fit.
So after the link above about attacks on NPR and PBS (we’ve seen that movie before), I’m going to stop linking back to my news sources of choice. Y’all can decide for yourselves where you want to get your news, and you can form your own opinions about what’s happening in the United States of America right now.
Me? I’m going to spend some time streaming Mr. Rogers and Thomas the Tank Engine and Arthur and Sesame Street, where children learn to work out their problems with each other and remain friends.
I’m going to buy myself a new Bible (my confirmation Bible from when I was 12 years old is held together with a rubber band, and drenched in highlighter) and rebuild my internal reference library of guiding principles, and then I’m going to try to do a better job of living by them.
Think globally, act locally, right?
Wishing you peace, hope, and relief from exhaustion, I remain,
your just-trying-to-hold-it-together-in-the-sure-and-certain-hope-that-the-current-regime-will-crumble-under-the-weight-of-its-own-stunning-incompetence,-infantile-malice,-and-inevitable-internal-power-struggles,
Ridiculouswoman
I don’t blame you for wanting to slip into a comfy sweater and shoes and retreat to a lovely neighborhood. Like they say in case of an emergency on the airplane, “Take care of yourself first, and then take care of those around you.” So, while you are taking care of yourself, I do hope you will continue to reach out to help your neighbors and write a little bit about the attacks on our Democracy that are endangering all of us.
Today is Super Bowl Sunday and the person who occupies the Oval Office had decided that he will attend.
How much money will need to be spent on extra security, and how do the law enforcement officers feel about providing security to the person who pardon the individuals that attack the law enforcement officers in DC?
And finally, while the person who occupies the Oval Office enjoys privileged seating and eating the goodies, how many hundreds of people have already died because USAID was shelved?
All important points, and the occupant of the Oval Office clearly doesn’t give a crap about any of them. I hope he gets roundly booed. Not holding my breath, though.