#losinghope

The quote from Markus Zusak's, The Book Thief, remains so eerily relevant no matter how much time has passed since the horrors of WW2 or even the publication of the work.

It has been 76 years since the end of WW2 and 16 years since the publication of the Book Thief. But its message remains as relevant as ever, it's story unforgettable.

But even as years will pass and I will surely forget the plot of one of the few books that made me sob, leaving me in shock with an empty feeling in my chest as I finished the last few pages, I know that I will never forget this quote.

My heart is heavy and I feel like crying. It's not just that Europe realizes they can't depend on the US anymore, or that economists over here think the US is going to break out into a civil war due to the poverty induced by Covid. It's not just because of my hope for a better USA, one that supports each other and one that believes in education and science.  One that will support the healthcare system, and in a USA that believes hand washing and mask wearing are doing the same kind of thing. What is the worst right now, is that almost all of my friends have given up.  What I see on social media is horrifying.  No one is holding out any hope, and those who are conservative are simply posting that they voted.  

What I heard on a political podcast was that there are simply more votes to be counted.  What I see on the Google live ticker is that Biden MUST win Michigan and Wisconsin, and that it is really too close.  He has to win both, and when everyone I see who is liberal isn't posting anything about the election anymore...sounds like they already know the answer.  We already saw how people got upset during the Gore vs Bush election of 2000, and how Florida was messed up. But when everyone made a big deal out of it, it didn't go anywhere.

We already know what's going to happen.  At least, that's what it looks like and feels like to me. I already had a bad feeling that Trump was going to win again, because Biden simply wasn't a strong enough candidate. Texas was going to be blue? Who were they kidding? Racism runs rampant and unchecked in the South. Most people have convinced themselves they can't be racist, but let's be real.  I remember conversations from my family down south about how you couldn't date a black person, it wasn't accepted.  Let's not even get started with homosexuality, and the absolute fear that many live in down south. 

What the worst for me right now is, is the lack of voices I hear.  The lack of people shouting, or getting upset, or doing anything.  The acceptance. The apathy.  Is this simple...nothing...moving on. That is what is hardest for me. Seriously, they are going to take women's rights away.  They are going to cut services that support the most needy of us. They are going to widen the divide between rich and poor, while convincing the poor that they're helping them. Why aren't you fucking angry right now? Where is the anger? Where are the protests? Why, America, Why are you so pitiful?

My friends try to comfort me right now, by saying "Aren't you happy that you're already in Germany?"