"Let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic. And we'll change the world."--Jack Layton

     This despair isn't going away. Despair. Desperation. In response, I find that there are two easy reactions.

     The first is anger. Anger is an emotion that I do not like to harbor, but one that has come to surface a lot lately. I am angry. I'm angry that we have a president who is embarrassing our nation abroad. I'm angry that we have a leader who denies facts, DENIES FACTS and makes up his own truth. I'm angry that there are people out there who must know how ludicrous these things are that come out of Mr. Trump's mouth, yet they continue to support him and worse, defend him. I am angry that people are being more marginalized and more otherized and people continue to accept this as okay. 
     All of it makes me so very angry. I see many out there who feel the same way. But anger can skew our focus. When we ignore our common sense, or turn our back on that which we esteem, love and kindness, and let anger take over, what have we become? We've become that which we loathe. We've become that which we excoriate.
     I am fully in support of protests and the resistance to Trump. 100%. I don't think we have to "take" anything lying down. Ever. But violence, and screaming  hatefulness, and unchecked rage without supporting facts, only harms our cause. We need to fight smarter in our battle. We need to be the opposite of all of this hatred and bigotry. Remember this: we mustn't become what we fight against.

     The second reaction I find easy to cling to out of desperation is indifference. I feel many days like hiding in my house and turning off any forms of media be it the internet, TV, or radio. When I feel overwhelmed, I want to shut off and shut down. But then I remember that I am lucky enough to be able to tune out and to get away from all of the injustices that are being done out there because I am in a place of privilege. There are so many who cannot do this. There are so many that are being hurt by Trump's edicts and decrees that cannot just hide their head in the sand. It is my duty and responsibility as a  human being to stay in the fight and to stay engaged. There are people who need me to be vigilant, to be a watchdog, to be brave.


     We need to turn our anger into action and our indifference into bravery. Yes it is a maddening world out there and growing more so all of the time, but we cannot, must not, stop trying to set things right.

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi