#fuck2016

Is this thing still on? Putting myself to bed because I'm drained from all the news and headlines and memes and posts and opeds and rants and tweets i can't seem to tear myself away from. I'm horrified but not that surprised at what Trump is doing, but more than that I'm appalled at the lack of empathy I see from so many people. I know this is just another rant into the void but I am just so sick over it. Maybe it's because I've spent most of my life surrounded by people who look different than me, maybe it's because I've moved a lot and have been the outsider and new person so many times, maybe it's my economic privilege, or maybe being a bleeding heart is just built into my DNA, but I can't understand why so many people are so afraid of things that are different than what they perceive to be normal. They're so blinded by fear that they're willing to hurt and endanger others AND THEMSELVES to avoid a change. There is a place for fear. It teaches kids not to touch hot stoves, triggers out instinct to run when in danger, but it should not be the driving force behind moving our country "forward" and it's certainly not what's made America great (are we still great? That's another post for another day...). In just one week our new president has shown just how fearful he is of so many things - criticism, foreigners, science, to name just a few - and followers have accepted his harmful agenda of intolerance. It's like people refuse to even consider that a cause or ideology or motivator outside their own narrow scope might be valid and important to someone else. This way of thinking is hurting us all. Success and happiness aren't finite resources. When our neighbors succeed it's good for us. When we treat others with respect and kindness we build a foundation of trust so that maybe when we need help some day they'll do the same in return. I never considered myself patriotic, but it turns out I am. I care deeply about this country and the people in it. I am hurt and embarrassed and angry at the things we've allowed, the way we're represented, and the way we treat one another and our fellow global citizens. The US is comprised of millions of people, and right now it seems like many of them are thinking only of themselves. I have no solutions to offer and have exhausted myself trying to make some sense of what is happening, so I came here to let myself cry a little. Tomorrow I'll get up and make breakfast and go to yoga, and Sunday I'll pull it together so I can meet with a girlfriend to write letters and make calls. The earth will still travel around the sun (science!) and life will go on but this really fucking sucks.