Largely I’m tuning out. I have subscriptions to The Guardian & The Atlantic to keep informed, but I’m turning inward. More art, more time with friends & family. I will not let the next four years rob me of my joy and my time. They want my attention & they won’t get it.
Same, but I'm also asking my many kind Mexican neighbors if they have town suggestions for an old(ish) white couple south of the border. Bonus: a talented woman President!
I’ve decided to stop reading all media, excepting a few favourite substackers, and instead spend the next 50 months reading the 50 top classic novels of our time. I started with The Grapes of Wrath, and damn isn’t it somehow comforting to realize the same themes have always been present throughout our lives, and the human spirit still perseveres. That’s the hope and courage I’ll hold onto.
“And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulated in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need” (J. Steinbeck)
I relate to where you’re at. The Russians call it ‘vnutrennya emigratsia,’ or internal emigration, a deliberate embrace of one’s own alienation, a turning away from politics to the comfort of family, to the refuge of books and art. [edited ht/Alex o]
Some of the best political writing in America at The Atlantic. I’m particularly impressed by David Frum and Tom Nichols, who I wrote off as neocons before the age of Trump kicked that wretched ideology to the curb.
I don’t have reason to dispute anything you described. That said, he taught at the U.S. Naval War College where he assisted in educating and developing future Naval leaders . He speaks intelligently about what he observed doing so and I think he sincerely believes many of whom he taught won’t give fealty to Trump the dictator. That’s enough for me.
i think that really depends on who owns them. Dont look at just the immediate owners but the company that owns them. Can take some digging but it is worth it
Rolling Stone is on my list in addition to The Atlantic. And I’m near Houston, so get local news from The Chronicle. Haven’t heard Trump’s voice in weeks.
Same. I have free subscriptions to Financial Times, Wapo & NYT courtesy of my job so I browse the headlines, read a few things and leave it at that. I haven't had Netflix since mid-2020, I barely watch TV anymore & tend to pop in an old DVD when I want to watch something. Books...jigsaw puzzles...walks....the 2 stray adopted kittens....growing food every year...knitting...needlework. That's what I'm spending who knows what's left of my life/non-existent retirement on. Now that I think about it, I also tuned out after 2004 when Bush II was greeted with compromise and accommodation by Democrats after a whole election cycle of saying he'd be a fascist dictator if he won again. It's been real easy to recognize the Dems' "pattern" in recent years & I doubt I'll ever fall back into it again (the party needs to die in a fire & that's that). With Twitter & FB deleted & only a couple subreddits for my socials, it'll make breaking the last of my bad habits much easier. I still don't know what "brat summer" was, wtf is up with being "very demure, very mindful" and what JD Vance has to do with a couch. Once Biden got out of the race & Kamala's run began with that insipid "JOY" bs, I went rather cold turkey on this election. By the time Walz was picked, I was already in full "who care" mode. It was an amazing cherry on top of an already tall, peaceful few-years-in-the-making zen sundae.
Same. I got a Kobo ereader so I could borrow ebooks from my library and am rediscovering my love of books. Much better for my mental health than doomscrolling.
@KareninCO: That's exactly it! A State of the Union report. Also, I've been begging people to read William Gibson since he presaged the internet in his novel *Neuromancer*. Gibson is among the most insightful observers of the American scene since Fitzgerald.
I tuned out of the Trump Legal Distraction Circus a couple years ago but paid half attention to the election. Main focus has been shoring up resources and figuring out how to help my family unit ride out what's coming for as long as I can. I'm expecting the wheels to entirely come off before 2030 what with Trump II, a ticking time bomb of an economy, a crumbling healthcare system, a looming pandemic to join COVID that will end healthcare as we know it, and ecological collapse. I can't be bothered with the latest outrageous thing MTG said today.
When I read your posts, Sarah, I feel like that nine-year old little girl in a theater, watching with fingers shrouding eyes, heartbeat quickening, terrified the bad guy is going to succeed in whatever dastardly deed he's about to commit. Praying the good guys are right around the corner. They're not coming, are they? It's just us. We are who we've been waiting for. Are we enough? Can we open our eyes? I'm 71 and do not want a terrifying ending.
I don’t know if we’ll be enough to defeat this in our lifetime, I just know we have to try the best we can, that everyone’s way of trying will look different, and that those differences are often a beautiful and beneficial thing
I can point you toward quite a few Americans who definitely are not tuned out or planning to take an intermission: our nation's many hate groups such as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Boogaloo Boys, KKK, and many others who have been waiting -- impatiently -- and planning for this day for well over 40 years. The ascendance of Trump II represents nothing short of tacit (if not explicit) endorsement and empowerment of their various hateful agendas, which include, but are not limited to, white supremacy, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, etc. Their hatreds go on and on. And they view Trump as their latter day Messiah. Oh, and did anyone mention that they are really, really well armed and looking eagerly for any excuses -- however flimsy -- to go ballistic?
For additional details, I recommend 'God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America' by Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware. Quoting from the book:
". . . according to American University scholar Cynthia Miller-Idriss's 'best estimate' at least 75,000 to 100,000 individuals are actively involved with white supremacist extremist groups, in addition to the 15,000 to 20,000 people who belong to armed militia organizations comprising some three hundred different groups, the threat of wide-spread acts of domestic terrorism -- perhaps leading to a sustained insurgency campaign and even civil war -- is not hyperbolic."
Even Elon Musk may not be able to buy his way out of the hate groups' long-awaited "Day of the rope."
Our 5 November 2024 election loosened the cork in the bottle containing the angry, centuries-old evil, hateful genie; our 20 January 2025 inauguration/coronation of President Trump will remove the cork fully. Many of us foresaw this and tried to warn our fellow citizens; elections have consequences, often unintended consequences. Welcome to dystopia.
Divide and conquer is a power play that happens in families and in countries. There is no easy answer to the divisive world we live in. The artist in me continues to write. The librarian side looks for the footnotes.
There really is no intermission for tyrants. The world is becoming a vast plantation of indentured servants, no longer citizens, but mere consumers in great feedlots called "nations". Mere tokens only. It is as Orwell said, the future is a boot endlessly crushing down and there is no longer a place to flee to.
But depressing as our politics, with only the briefest of intermissions, is- there is a worse thing than kleptocrats, plutocrats, oligarchy, the destruction of the commons and history, the relentless dumbing down.
I stand with the help of my Ukrainian cane on my porch and see the glaciers on Wy'east that are steadily melting. Two hundred miles from here I can stand out in the desert and know that halfway around the world a vast ocean river is determining the strength of the winds that blow the sage. And that river is dying. The earth is warming rapidly, the poles are melting, the species are dying. The sixth extinction is upon us.
An ultimate tyranny it is brought on by the vast ocean of our eight billion and the oligarchs that float like a dirty foam on it. What intermission will there be from that?
Exactly. It seems like even those whose opinion I trust and go to for information are more concerned with number of followers than what is currently happening. I crave information and truth.
Brilliant. It’s not an intermission that brings much rest. The overwhelming sadness I feel in understanding how betrayed we have been is the hardest thing to accept. Everyone I know is “ checked out”. And yes…we’ve been betrayed and manipulated by the DOJ, Wall Street, banking industry, large corporations, regular news media, Democratic Party, and even the WP. It’s no longer business as usual.
It's an exhausting intermission. I've had a lot going on lately (family stuff, book obligations, ailing friends, etc) but I'm also worn out. I think there will be a time of reconsideration now that many Americans finally grasp the multitude of ways they have been betrayed, and that the betrayal does not come from a singular source. And hopefully, finally, new strategies, because we're gonna have a lot of new problems...
i am very sad that I have been asked by some friends not to talk about politics anymore as they just " dont want to know". I try so hard to accommodate other's needs for a stress free life but I do not understand how they can happily bury their heads in the sand.
Yes! They say it’s “too stressful” to think or talk about or it’s not going to happen, too many billionaires don’t want to lose their money, whatever. I want to PLAN and DISCUSS our options together so we can be safe and not starve thru this thing we have coming.
Hopefully it will also soon dawn on Trump supporters that they have been betrayed by Trump. When he does not fix the things he claims he will, like high prices, health care, etc., hopefully the wool will begin to move to their foreheads. When two or three years from now they still can't afford housing, health care, education, food... will they sense betrayal and properly place it? Will they? So far not much gets through. Hey, maybe being hungry, struggling to survive and pay bills, but also getting to watch their targeted enemies get punished will be enough for them? We'll see.
Because it’s a cult and to them Trump is a religious figure , I think they will never feel betrayed by Trump. Not most of them anyway. It’s irrational, as cults are
Yes, fundamentalism. The answers provided by the faith can never be wrong, even when they are blatantly wrong, they cannot be wrong. I saw a large amount of interviews w/Trump people and why did they vote for him? Gas prices they said. That was it. Now, today, gas prices are down - will they credit Biden? No, never. If Trump was in office, they would attribute lower gas prices to Trump, just as the deeply religious attribute all things to their god(s). You are right, it is a devastatingly sick situation. How do you cure people of fundamentalist beliefs?
I live in a red part of E WA. This has always been a republican part of the state and we have the loud obnoxious MAGA truthers here in my small town. After the election they were memeing away on their page about libtards etc. I was thus very surprised when I looked at our county voting info to see that my town voted 65% for Harris/Walz. It really heartened me to see that. It showed me that even the local small r republicans couldnt vote for their party.
It will not dawn on Trump supporters that they have been betrayed. As long as the Trumpists tell them that they are not hungry, struggling, or unhealthy, they will blindly believe what they are told until they can blame the Left for their problems.
I feel as let down as did after 9/11 happened… my first thought was “they let us down”..meaning the government…Bush..did not protect us as they should have. Same thing now.
What’s also crushing too is all the blame I see being thrown around at innocent, everyday people instead of those in power (from all sides) responsible for this mess. Even the way that the Democrats keep finger pointing here, there, and everywhere has disgusted me so much. I am seriously thinking of becoming an Independent after this nonsense.
I’m an independent. I’ve never been in a political party. In Missouri you don’t need to register for one to be able to vote in primaries, so I never saw any need to join. And I agree with everything you’re saying — there are plenty of reasons to leave. I can’t stand the Dem finger pointing either because it’s pointed always at the worst off while the powerful are endlessly excused. Last I saw they were blaming the Navajo Nation, but not the DOJ…
The Navajo Nation?! That’s a new one on me! My husband and I rented an RV and went camping right after the election, then spent time with family for the Thanksgiving weekend. We haven’t resumed our political “news”-watching habit so we’re out of the loop.
I’m not sure I want to know what the Navajo-blame is all about—my eyeballs may just roll right outta my head.
It's Sunday - put it in hymnals, she said, kidding.
But then, attendance at local churches - except the carnivalesque mega ones, which aren't really local - has dwindled drastically, starting earlier and likely declining faster than tv audiences. Whatever one thinks of the God question, it's another loss of local context/connection.
Yup. In fact, the mainstream episcopal church I'd attended for ten years is presently being riven by this same stream of entitled 'discontent'. It won't survive another two years.
Indeed. I’ve stopped watching news shows. They don’t seem to have anything to say, and I agree with what you say regarding us being led on to think Trump’s fall was imminent…a sure fire thing if you listened to all the talking heads and analysts and legal experts on MSNBC.
I’m focusing on family and friends and following those I believe have something of value to offer us… such as yourself. Thank you again for your words of advice and encouragement!
I'm angry. Angrier than I was in 2016, I spent my whole summer fighting for Harris/Walz. Donated time and money. Knocked on doors, wrote out postcards, texted and was a poll watcher. We all worked so hard and how are we rewarded? They aren't even doing a forensic audit of the battleground states, they aren't questioning why the numbers don't add up. They are doing absolutely NOTHING. That orange p.o.s. screamed "fraud" for 4 years but we're not allowed to do the same?
As for getting to know my neighbors-I'll stick with the ones I *know* who care. F the ones who proudly wore the red hats and hung the flags that derided President Biden. The *only* flag that should have been flown was the American flag.
Sorry Sarah, while I appreciate your sage wisdom, I cannot converse with those who think it's OK for women to die from miscarriages, become sterile from ectopic pregnancies, or lose access to the most basic of maternal care;
The ones who would gladly invalidate my brother's marriage; the ones who applaud the deportation of the hardworking immigrants who pick our vegetables and process our foods.
During 45s reign, I marched, advocated, and fought. I can't do it anymore. Honestly, I'm done. I'm burnt out. When the people who supposedly support democracy but roll over and play dead when they should be fighting, well, why should I fight for them anymore.
I will stay in my little blue enclave of artists, writers, and musicians. Protect, as best I can, my LGBTQ+ friends and family and any young girl or woman who needs my help.
I just wonder how totally checking out is going to help anything. I don’t think we could pretend it’s not happening, but yes, of course we shouldn’t get sucked into too much but we can’t tune it out even if we want to I don’t think.
I'm being selfish I know. My only excuse is that I've been around the sun 78 times and my first political rodeo was backing JFK, later chanting "LBJ how many kids did you kill today". I was Green For Gene. I was a Bernie Bro. I guarded Biden signs from my maga neighbors predation. I'm tired. Im disillusioned and im starting to believe Sting"s lyric when he says "There is no political solution...".Those are my reasons for pulling back. I agree with everything you say about disengagement. But I think some of us have hit the wall as long distance runners say. :-)
"Americans are battered by hypocrisy: Trump is a fascist, Dems say, yet they look forward to accommodating him? This is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, the CDC says, yet both the unvaccinated and vaccinated keep getting infected? “Cancel culture” is a scourge, the GOP says, yet the right-wingers bitching about it are the ones restricting speech and violating privacy? The economy is “booming”, Dems say, but everything is less affordable — and bank statements that prove it are dismissed as “vibes”?"
Largely I’m tuning out. I have subscriptions to The Guardian & The Atlantic to keep informed, but I’m turning inward. More art, more time with friends & family. I will not let the next four years rob me of my joy and my time. They want my attention & they won’t get it.
Good! Don’t let them!
Same, but I'm also asking my many kind Mexican neighbors if they have town suggestions for an old(ish) white couple south of the border. Bonus: a talented woman President!
My husband and I moved to Ajijic, Mexico. It’s a great little community.
I’ve decided to stop reading all media, excepting a few favourite substackers, and instead spend the next 50 months reading the 50 top classic novels of our time. I started with The Grapes of Wrath, and damn isn’t it somehow comforting to realize the same themes have always been present throughout our lives, and the human spirit still perseveres. That’s the hope and courage I’ll hold onto.
“And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulated in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need” (J. Steinbeck)
Read “Whose Names Are Unknown”, by Sanora Babb, the real story of the Dust Bowl, and a story appropriated by Steinbeck!
I relate to where you’re at. The Russians call it ‘vnutrennya emigratsia,’ or internal emigration, a deliberate embrace of one’s own alienation, a turning away from politics to the comfort of family, to the refuge of books and art. [edited ht/Alex o]
"vnutrennya emigratsia", I think is what you meant.
Thank you so much! I should have proofread. Fixed!
😊 to help. It's a good practice and I suspect we all going to be leaning into it.
The Atlantic sounds like something I should try. Do subscribe to our local newspaper..mainly to help them keep going.
Some of the best political writing in America at The Atlantic. I’m particularly impressed by David Frum and Tom Nichols, who I wrote off as neocons before the age of Trump kicked that wretched ideology to the curb.
I don’t have reason to dispute anything you described. That said, he taught at the U.S. Naval War College where he assisted in educating and developing future Naval leaders . He speaks intelligently about what he observed doing so and I think he sincerely believes many of whom he taught won’t give fealty to Trump the dictator. That’s enough for me.
You’re getting mixed up with Nick Kristoff for God sake’s
Sorry, I was a jerk about it
i think that really depends on who owns them. Dont look at just the immediate owners but the company that owns them. Can take some digging but it is worth it
Rolling Stone is on my list in addition to The Atlantic. And I’m near Houston, so get local news from The Chronicle. Haven’t heard Trump’s voice in weeks.
Same. I have free subscriptions to Financial Times, Wapo & NYT courtesy of my job so I browse the headlines, read a few things and leave it at that. I haven't had Netflix since mid-2020, I barely watch TV anymore & tend to pop in an old DVD when I want to watch something. Books...jigsaw puzzles...walks....the 2 stray adopted kittens....growing food every year...knitting...needlework. That's what I'm spending who knows what's left of my life/non-existent retirement on. Now that I think about it, I also tuned out after 2004 when Bush II was greeted with compromise and accommodation by Democrats after a whole election cycle of saying he'd be a fascist dictator if he won again. It's been real easy to recognize the Dems' "pattern" in recent years & I doubt I'll ever fall back into it again (the party needs to die in a fire & that's that). With Twitter & FB deleted & only a couple subreddits for my socials, it'll make breaking the last of my bad habits much easier. I still don't know what "brat summer" was, wtf is up with being "very demure, very mindful" and what JD Vance has to do with a couch. Once Biden got out of the race & Kamala's run began with that insipid "JOY" bs, I went rather cold turkey on this election. By the time Walz was picked, I was already in full "who care" mode. It was an amazing cherry on top of an already tall, peaceful few-years-in-the-making zen sundae.
I also have The Nation in that list. I cannot miss Elie Mystal.
Same. I got a Kobo ereader so I could borrow ebooks from my library and am rediscovering my love of books. Much better for my mental health than doomscrolling.
Well, you have defended yourself quite well .... but are you now well-informed??
A very wise decision Ms Beth. I wish you and yours good health in body, courage & serenity in mind, and love in spirit for these upcoming years.
This is one of the best and most accurate state of the nation reports I've ever seen.
Thank you very much!
Thank YOU Ms Sarah!
@KareninCO: That's exactly it! A State of the Union report. Also, I've been begging people to read William Gibson since he presaged the internet in his novel *Neuromancer*. Gibson is among the most insightful observers of the American scene since Fitzgerald.
I tuned out of the Trump Legal Distraction Circus a couple years ago but paid half attention to the election. Main focus has been shoring up resources and figuring out how to help my family unit ride out what's coming for as long as I can. I'm expecting the wheels to entirely come off before 2030 what with Trump II, a ticking time bomb of an economy, a crumbling healthcare system, a looming pandemic to join COVID that will end healthcare as we know it, and ecological collapse. I can't be bothered with the latest outrageous thing MTG said today.
Yes exactly
You're the most courageous writer out there, read your books, thankful for your newsletter, and I believe every word you expertly write.
Thanks!
Agreed 1000%
When I read your posts, Sarah, I feel like that nine-year old little girl in a theater, watching with fingers shrouding eyes, heartbeat quickening, terrified the bad guy is going to succeed in whatever dastardly deed he's about to commit. Praying the good guys are right around the corner. They're not coming, are they? It's just us. We are who we've been waiting for. Are we enough? Can we open our eyes? I'm 71 and do not want a terrifying ending.
I don’t know if we’ll be enough to defeat this in our lifetime, I just know we have to try the best we can, that everyone’s way of trying will look different, and that those differences are often a beautiful and beneficial thing
I can point you toward quite a few Americans who definitely are not tuned out or planning to take an intermission: our nation's many hate groups such as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Boogaloo Boys, KKK, and many others who have been waiting -- impatiently -- and planning for this day for well over 40 years. The ascendance of Trump II represents nothing short of tacit (if not explicit) endorsement and empowerment of their various hateful agendas, which include, but are not limited to, white supremacy, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, etc. Their hatreds go on and on. And they view Trump as their latter day Messiah. Oh, and did anyone mention that they are really, really well armed and looking eagerly for any excuses -- however flimsy -- to go ballistic?
For additional details, I recommend 'God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America' by Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware. Quoting from the book:
". . . according to American University scholar Cynthia Miller-Idriss's 'best estimate' at least 75,000 to 100,000 individuals are actively involved with white supremacist extremist groups, in addition to the 15,000 to 20,000 people who belong to armed militia organizations comprising some three hundred different groups, the threat of wide-spread acts of domestic terrorism -- perhaps leading to a sustained insurgency campaign and even civil war -- is not hyperbolic."
Even Elon Musk may not be able to buy his way out of the hate groups' long-awaited "Day of the rope."
Our 5 November 2024 election loosened the cork in the bottle containing the angry, centuries-old evil, hateful genie; our 20 January 2025 inauguration/coronation of President Trump will remove the cork fully. Many of us foresaw this and tried to warn our fellow citizens; elections have consequences, often unintended consequences. Welcome to dystopia.
Divide and conquer is a power play that happens in families and in countries. There is no easy answer to the divisive world we live in. The artist in me continues to write. The librarian side looks for the footnotes.
That is good advice
There really is no intermission for tyrants. The world is becoming a vast plantation of indentured servants, no longer citizens, but mere consumers in great feedlots called "nations". Mere tokens only. It is as Orwell said, the future is a boot endlessly crushing down and there is no longer a place to flee to.
But depressing as our politics, with only the briefest of intermissions, is- there is a worse thing than kleptocrats, plutocrats, oligarchy, the destruction of the commons and history, the relentless dumbing down.
I stand with the help of my Ukrainian cane on my porch and see the glaciers on Wy'east that are steadily melting. Two hundred miles from here I can stand out in the desert and know that halfway around the world a vast ocean river is determining the strength of the winds that blow the sage. And that river is dying. The earth is warming rapidly, the poles are melting, the species are dying. The sixth extinction is upon us.
An ultimate tyranny it is brought on by the vast ocean of our eight billion and the oligarchs that float like a dirty foam on it. What intermission will there be from that?
Ok, pass me a cigarette.
Or better yet, a bottle.
Aye, Mad Max is in fact a documentary.....
"I don't want to be influenced: I want to be informed." When words are the weapon and shield of choice.
Exactly. It seems like even those whose opinion I trust and go to for information are more concerned with number of followers than what is currently happening. I crave information and truth.
That was my takeaway stanza as well.
Brilliant. It’s not an intermission that brings much rest. The overwhelming sadness I feel in understanding how betrayed we have been is the hardest thing to accept. Everyone I know is “ checked out”. And yes…we’ve been betrayed and manipulated by the DOJ, Wall Street, banking industry, large corporations, regular news media, Democratic Party, and even the WP. It’s no longer business as usual.
It's an exhausting intermission. I've had a lot going on lately (family stuff, book obligations, ailing friends, etc) but I'm also worn out. I think there will be a time of reconsideration now that many Americans finally grasp the multitude of ways they have been betrayed, and that the betrayal does not come from a singular source. And hopefully, finally, new strategies, because we're gonna have a lot of new problems...
i am very sad that I have been asked by some friends not to talk about politics anymore as they just " dont want to know". I try so hard to accommodate other's needs for a stress free life but I do not understand how they can happily bury their heads in the sand.
Yes! They say it’s “too stressful” to think or talk about or it’s not going to happen, too many billionaires don’t want to lose their money, whatever. I want to PLAN and DISCUSS our options together so we can be safe and not starve thru this thing we have coming.
Hopefully it will also soon dawn on Trump supporters that they have been betrayed by Trump. When he does not fix the things he claims he will, like high prices, health care, etc., hopefully the wool will begin to move to their foreheads. When two or three years from now they still can't afford housing, health care, education, food... will they sense betrayal and properly place it? Will they? So far not much gets through. Hey, maybe being hungry, struggling to survive and pay bills, but also getting to watch their targeted enemies get punished will be enough for them? We'll see.
Because it’s a cult and to them Trump is a religious figure , I think they will never feel betrayed by Trump. Not most of them anyway. It’s irrational, as cults are
Yes, fundamentalism. The answers provided by the faith can never be wrong, even when they are blatantly wrong, they cannot be wrong. I saw a large amount of interviews w/Trump people and why did they vote for him? Gas prices they said. That was it. Now, today, gas prices are down - will they credit Biden? No, never. If Trump was in office, they would attribute lower gas prices to Trump, just as the deeply religious attribute all things to their god(s). You are right, it is a devastatingly sick situation. How do you cure people of fundamentalist beliefs?
I live in a red part of E WA. This has always been a republican part of the state and we have the loud obnoxious MAGA truthers here in my small town. After the election they were memeing away on their page about libtards etc. I was thus very surprised when I looked at our county voting info to see that my town voted 65% for Harris/Walz. It really heartened me to see that. It showed me that even the local small r republicans couldnt vote for their party.
It will not dawn on Trump supporters that they have been betrayed. As long as the Trumpists tell them that they are not hungry, struggling, or unhealthy, they will blindly believe what they are told until they can blame the Left for their problems.
Yes, exactly.
I feel as let down as did after 9/11 happened… my first thought was “they let us down”..meaning the government…Bush..did not protect us as they should have. Same thing now.
What’s also crushing too is all the blame I see being thrown around at innocent, everyday people instead of those in power (from all sides) responsible for this mess. Even the way that the Democrats keep finger pointing here, there, and everywhere has disgusted me so much. I am seriously thinking of becoming an Independent after this nonsense.
I’m an independent. I’ve never been in a political party. In Missouri you don’t need to register for one to be able to vote in primaries, so I never saw any need to join. And I agree with everything you’re saying — there are plenty of reasons to leave. I can’t stand the Dem finger pointing either because it’s pointed always at the worst off while the powerful are endlessly excused. Last I saw they were blaming the Navajo Nation, but not the DOJ…
The Navajo Nation?! That’s a new one on me! My husband and I rented an RV and went camping right after the election, then spent time with family for the Thanksgiving weekend. We haven’t resumed our political “news”-watching habit so we’re out of the loop.
I’m not sure I want to know what the Navajo-blame is all about—my eyeballs may just roll right outta my head.
That’s what I did. I am a 68-year-old lifelong Democrat and I re-registered as an Independent a couple days after the election.
You’re hard to take girlfriend but you’re the right medicine for this illness.
Yes, a wise man once said something like that... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOUtsybozjg
It's Sunday - put it in hymnals, she said, kidding.
But then, attendance at local churches - except the carnivalesque mega ones, which aren't really local - has dwindled drastically, starting earlier and likely declining faster than tv audiences. Whatever one thinks of the God question, it's another loss of local context/connection.
Yup. In fact, the mainstream episcopal church I'd attended for ten years is presently being riven by this same stream of entitled 'discontent'. It won't survive another two years.
Every congregation that I’ve been part of, except one, has gone through the same.
Hahahaha
Gotta love the link. A little levity goes a long way these days! :-)
Indeed. I’ve stopped watching news shows. They don’t seem to have anything to say, and I agree with what you say regarding us being led on to think Trump’s fall was imminent…a sure fire thing if you listened to all the talking heads and analysts and legal experts on MSNBC.
I’m focusing on family and friends and following those I believe have something of value to offer us… such as yourself. Thank you again for your words of advice and encouragement!
Thank you for reading!
Know that I need to wean myself off of MSNBC…Morning Joe..onward…it is hard to break the habit, however.
Just do it!
Brilliant and sobering, as usual.
Thank you, Ms. Kendzior.
I'm angry. Angrier than I was in 2016, I spent my whole summer fighting for Harris/Walz. Donated time and money. Knocked on doors, wrote out postcards, texted and was a poll watcher. We all worked so hard and how are we rewarded? They aren't even doing a forensic audit of the battleground states, they aren't questioning why the numbers don't add up. They are doing absolutely NOTHING. That orange p.o.s. screamed "fraud" for 4 years but we're not allowed to do the same?
As for getting to know my neighbors-I'll stick with the ones I *know* who care. F the ones who proudly wore the red hats and hung the flags that derided President Biden. The *only* flag that should have been flown was the American flag.
Sorry Sarah, while I appreciate your sage wisdom, I cannot converse with those who think it's OK for women to die from miscarriages, become sterile from ectopic pregnancies, or lose access to the most basic of maternal care;
The ones who would gladly invalidate my brother's marriage; the ones who applaud the deportation of the hardworking immigrants who pick our vegetables and process our foods.
During 45s reign, I marched, advocated, and fought. I can't do it anymore. Honestly, I'm done. I'm burnt out. When the people who supposedly support democracy but roll over and play dead when they should be fighting, well, why should I fight for them anymore.
I will stay in my little blue enclave of artists, writers, and musicians. Protect, as best I can, my LGBTQ+ friends and family and any young girl or woman who needs my help.
I share your feelings of exhaustion and frustration for many of the same reasons. I've vowed to never get sucked into politics again.
I just wonder how totally checking out is going to help anything. I don’t think we could pretend it’s not happening, but yes, of course we shouldn’t get sucked into too much but we can’t tune it out even if we want to I don’t think.
I'm being selfish I know. My only excuse is that I've been around the sun 78 times and my first political rodeo was backing JFK, later chanting "LBJ how many kids did you kill today". I was Green For Gene. I was a Bernie Bro. I guarded Biden signs from my maga neighbors predation. I'm tired. Im disillusioned and im starting to believe Sting"s lyric when he says "There is no political solution...".Those are my reasons for pulling back. I agree with everything you say about disengagement. But I think some of us have hit the wall as long distance runners say. :-)
Ditto on volunteering for Harris and contributing to Dem candidates across the country.
"Americans are battered by hypocrisy: Trump is a fascist, Dems say, yet they look forward to accommodating him? This is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, the CDC says, yet both the unvaccinated and vaccinated keep getting infected? “Cancel culture” is a scourge, the GOP says, yet the right-wingers bitching about it are the ones restricting speech and violating privacy? The economy is “booming”, Dems say, but everything is less affordable — and bank statements that prove it are dismissed as “vibes”?"
THANK YOU
Excellent writing - so much to consider, and sadly, so much to agree with.
I’m going to reread a few times and digest everything more fully.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading!