Before my retirement as a helping professional, I worked hard to encourage victims of past or present trauma to rewrite their stories and thus begin to change the narrative from helpless victim to hopeful survivor. It certainly isn’t an easy journey early on, no matter how minor or massive the trauma. It can feel like standing at the edge of an icy mountain ledge with no path away from tragedy. Forging a path and navigating away from the danger, even if you have to claw your way toward safety and hope is daunting. It is my belief, both personally and professionally that we must not stick with the story of hopeless despair and powerless victim. We must not. We are exhausted, demoralized, and perhaps still in shock. It’s not easy or simple. The story I hope we can hold onto is one step at a time toward the path leading away from our demise. This is the story I hope we can hold onto.
Robert — I am disappointed, but not entirely surprised, to learn that some of your readers are expressing disillusionment re the current political situation. But I am not one of them, as I am convinced that further exposure to the vile behavior of Trump and his acolytes will cause a meaningful chunk of his “base” to realize the error of their ways. The process of getting there will necessarily involve some pain, but the ultimate result will, I am convinced, be a strengthening of the adherence to democracy of a majority of Americans. Sadly it probably is a NARROW majority but one that will put our country on a positive trajectory in the coming years—when Donald Trump will be a bitter but increasingly faint memory.
When you think about what others have sacrificed for our Democratic Republic, I can not give up or acquiesce. We must continue for the sake of our children, grandchildren, great ganchildren and too of the good people in the World.
I agree with Robert 100% “…like it or not—and ready or not—we have no option but to resist Trump’s agenda and begin our efforts to take back Congress and the presidency. We have no choice but to resist even if we feel pessimistic. The other options are surrender and withdrawal—which will make things worse over the long term, a result no one wants.
That's a new nebula for me, Robert. I love the color, too! Thanks for sharing the photo. I agree with you on the degree of angst out there. It seems to me there's a distinction between utter despair, mindless optimism - not a lot of that out there - and the Ds will never win an election again. I'm not really following that reasoning. Perhaps because I give agency to the less than 50% of the voters who went for Trump and keep in mind just how close the election was. There's a chunk of Americans who seem to be in a place that's hard to understand and has to make them miserable. But it seems reasonable to me that another chunk of 2024 Trump voters aren't true MAGA and a significant number will come to see the problem with their choice. He's starting off worse than he ended, and he ain't going nowhere but down. I channel my disgust to the major media which I'm mostly ignoring completely now, just using the Guardian as a news source, and relying on Substacks like Today. That's turning out to be a positive force for my mental state, demented thought it may be be. :-)
Thank you, Robert. I can't believe how many Dems are basically saying "We're doomed! It's hopeless!" Tell that to the Ukrainians. Yes, I'm angry, too -- I just about blew up when I saw a Trump/Vance bumper sticker yesterday, and openly fantasized about letting the air out of their tires -- but I'm also determined. Nobody ever accomplished anything by deciding in advance that it was no use. And our democracy is worth fighting for.
I'm on tiktok, a lot more than I should be. I don't mind going toe to toe with cult45. The people on there absolutely don't believe 45 will do anything. Claiming he didn't last term. They voted for a better economy. That's what it all came down to. Eggs and milk. Cult45 don't understand tariffs and who pays them, because 45 doesn't understand tariffs. 45 told them he's not involved in Project 2025, they believe him. I just had a conversation with a lady about this. She claimed she researched everything. Yet she doesn't know Russ Vought and Tom Homan were with Project 2025. These people are going to find out real quick that what trump said, he meant. And other things he said were outright lies to them. There's Mexican cult45 that voted for trump that don't understand why their brothers and sisters in cult45 are now threatening them. Won't have anything to do with them. Mass deportation is real, they're finding this out. I've spoken to others that don't believe he would do that. Yet, TX General Land Office is offering 1,400-acre Starr County ranch as a site for his internment camps. I believe they've offered more acreage.
I truly believe that in about 3 months times, a lot of cult45 won't admit who they voted for. They may even say they sat this election out.
I recently saw a post about Fox "News" playing on TVs in waiting rooms, airports, and-- God help us--at military bases. I suppose in some places it's the receptionist who chooses the channel, and in others, it may be the request of a patient, a doctor, or the neutral decision of a lower-level employee. If Fox is on, people like me feel our anxiety and irritation levels go through the roof, and I imagine MAGAts would feel similarly infuriated having to watch MSNBC. I plan to be more proactive from here on. I want to make the point that a place where people go to care for their health or solvency should not be raising their blood pressure and mistrust right off the bat. The doctor/dentist/etc. will have to deal with a more distressed patient, and who in their right mind would knowingly worsen their patients' stress levels? So instead of showing favoritism to one side or the other--and maybe losing clients-- I'll suggest that they take advantage of the channels that show history, or the natural world, or music, or animals? Those are things that people of all political stripes can enjoy. I think I'm going to print out a version of this little rap to give to the receptionist, in case they have to bring up the issue with their superiors later.
In the interest of helping revive spirits, I wanted to paste part of the Intro to the new Indivisible Guide. It is very inspiring !
“Democracy is in grave peril, but it is not dead. Fascists depend on convincing us to give our power away and fall in line, that the fight is over and we lost. And while we must be clear-eyed about the threat, we must not do the fascists’ work for them by giving them powers they do not have. Trump wants to govern as a dictator, but he has the slimmest possible congressional majority and a grossly unpopular agenda. Winning an election with 49.9% of the vote (of those who voted) does not make him a Dictator for Life and does not make Project 2025 the law of the land.
The truth is that political power resides in many places — from local to state to federal. To stave off the fascists, we must tap into that power in every corner of our country. We must organize ourselves to block their attacks, break MAGA’s political strength, and build a winning majority coalition of our own. Leadership in this moment must come from regular people, not just politicians.”
I’m with you Robert’
Before my retirement as a helping professional, I worked hard to encourage victims of past or present trauma to rewrite their stories and thus begin to change the narrative from helpless victim to hopeful survivor. It certainly isn’t an easy journey early on, no matter how minor or massive the trauma. It can feel like standing at the edge of an icy mountain ledge with no path away from tragedy. Forging a path and navigating away from the danger, even if you have to claw your way toward safety and hope is daunting. It is my belief, both personally and professionally that we must not stick with the story of hopeless despair and powerless victim. We must not. We are exhausted, demoralized, and perhaps still in shock. It’s not easy or simple. The story I hope we can hold onto is one step at a time toward the path leading away from our demise. This is the story I hope we can hold onto.
Even Picard beat the Borg. We have no option but to resist. Courage and calm!
That nebula looks like a giant manta ray is hiding inside.
I’m with you Robert. I’m not giving up no matter what!
Your letter “A limited virus’ and today’s newsletter give me hope. I will not quit and so thankful, neither will you.
Robert — I am disappointed, but not entirely surprised, to learn that some of your readers are expressing disillusionment re the current political situation. But I am not one of them, as I am convinced that further exposure to the vile behavior of Trump and his acolytes will cause a meaningful chunk of his “base” to realize the error of their ways. The process of getting there will necessarily involve some pain, but the ultimate result will, I am convinced, be a strengthening of the adherence to democracy of a majority of Americans. Sadly it probably is a NARROW majority but one that will put our country on a positive trajectory in the coming years—when Donald Trump will be a bitter but increasingly faint memory.
Yes!!! And the only time I have respect for the idea of ‘NO CHOICE’
When you think about what others have sacrificed for our Democratic Republic, I can not give up or acquiesce. We must continue for the sake of our children, grandchildren, great ganchildren and too of the good people in the World.
I agree with Robert 100% “…like it or not—and ready or not—we have no option but to resist Trump’s agenda and begin our efforts to take back Congress and the presidency. We have no choice but to resist even if we feel pessimistic. The other options are surrender and withdrawal—which will make things worse over the long term, a result no one wants.
I'm not giving up either!
That's a new nebula for me, Robert. I love the color, too! Thanks for sharing the photo. I agree with you on the degree of angst out there. It seems to me there's a distinction between utter despair, mindless optimism - not a lot of that out there - and the Ds will never win an election again. I'm not really following that reasoning. Perhaps because I give agency to the less than 50% of the voters who went for Trump and keep in mind just how close the election was. There's a chunk of Americans who seem to be in a place that's hard to understand and has to make them miserable. But it seems reasonable to me that another chunk of 2024 Trump voters aren't true MAGA and a significant number will come to see the problem with their choice. He's starting off worse than he ended, and he ain't going nowhere but down. I channel my disgust to the major media which I'm mostly ignoring completely now, just using the Guardian as a news source, and relying on Substacks like Today. That's turning out to be a positive force for my mental state, demented thought it may be be. :-)
Thank you, Robert. I can't believe how many Dems are basically saying "We're doomed! It's hopeless!" Tell that to the Ukrainians. Yes, I'm angry, too -- I just about blew up when I saw a Trump/Vance bumper sticker yesterday, and openly fantasized about letting the air out of their tires -- but I'm also determined. Nobody ever accomplished anything by deciding in advance that it was no use. And our democracy is worth fighting for.
I'm on tiktok, a lot more than I should be. I don't mind going toe to toe with cult45. The people on there absolutely don't believe 45 will do anything. Claiming he didn't last term. They voted for a better economy. That's what it all came down to. Eggs and milk. Cult45 don't understand tariffs and who pays them, because 45 doesn't understand tariffs. 45 told them he's not involved in Project 2025, they believe him. I just had a conversation with a lady about this. She claimed she researched everything. Yet she doesn't know Russ Vought and Tom Homan were with Project 2025. These people are going to find out real quick that what trump said, he meant. And other things he said were outright lies to them. There's Mexican cult45 that voted for trump that don't understand why their brothers and sisters in cult45 are now threatening them. Won't have anything to do with them. Mass deportation is real, they're finding this out. I've spoken to others that don't believe he would do that. Yet, TX General Land Office is offering 1,400-acre Starr County ranch as a site for his internment camps. I believe they've offered more acreage.
I truly believe that in about 3 months times, a lot of cult45 won't admit who they voted for. They may even say they sat this election out.
I recently saw a post about Fox "News" playing on TVs in waiting rooms, airports, and-- God help us--at military bases. I suppose in some places it's the receptionist who chooses the channel, and in others, it may be the request of a patient, a doctor, or the neutral decision of a lower-level employee. If Fox is on, people like me feel our anxiety and irritation levels go through the roof, and I imagine MAGAts would feel similarly infuriated having to watch MSNBC. I plan to be more proactive from here on. I want to make the point that a place where people go to care for their health or solvency should not be raising their blood pressure and mistrust right off the bat. The doctor/dentist/etc. will have to deal with a more distressed patient, and who in their right mind would knowingly worsen their patients' stress levels? So instead of showing favoritism to one side or the other--and maybe losing clients-- I'll suggest that they take advantage of the channels that show history, or the natural world, or music, or animals? Those are things that people of all political stripes can enjoy. I think I'm going to print out a version of this little rap to give to the receptionist, in case they have to bring up the issue with their superiors later.
I am not giving up, not ever!!! NEVER!
In the interest of helping revive spirits, I wanted to paste part of the Intro to the new Indivisible Guide. It is very inspiring !
“Democracy is in grave peril, but it is not dead. Fascists depend on convincing us to give our power away and fall in line, that the fight is over and we lost. And while we must be clear-eyed about the threat, we must not do the fascists’ work for them by giving them powers they do not have. Trump wants to govern as a dictator, but he has the slimmest possible congressional majority and a grossly unpopular agenda. Winning an election with 49.9% of the vote (of those who voted) does not make him a Dictator for Life and does not make Project 2025 the law of the land.
The truth is that political power resides in many places — from local to state to federal. To stave off the fascists, we must tap into that power in every corner of our country. We must organize ourselves to block their attacks, break MAGA’s political strength, and build a winning majority coalition of our own. Leadership in this moment must come from regular people, not just politicians.”
I’m not giving up, no matter what, either.