By Lucy

That’s not hyperbole.

What we’ve been accustomed to as the status quo since the Cold War ended, and arguably since the 1960’s, is over.

I try to stay away from writing about politics because I want my blog to be accessible, but I can’t pretend this doesn’t bother me deeply. I wasn’t even worried about the first Trump term, because I knew he was too dumb to accomplish anything serious and the people in his administration were Republicans with their heads more or less screwed on.

It will not be the same this time. The Federalist Society has made sure to surround Trump with the kind of people they want in office – people who do not believe in equality. People who happily describe themselves as Nazis. People who will strip the rights from anyone who isn’t a wealthy, white, heterosexual male.

I woke up this morning and cried.

I don’t know a single person who wasn’t absolutely, abjectly depressed by this. I had LGBTQ friends reach out to me in tears, in either panic or the depths of despair.

Women were already dying from the fall of Roe V Wade. Now there will be even more bodies.

Visible minorities and recent immigrants will have even less protections, be even more visible targets.

I often say that if I was born in the US, I’d be dead. I wouldn’t have been able to afford the surgery and chemo. End of the story.

I shudder to think how many people at or below the poverty line, with disabilities and chronic illnesses, who will be left with only heart-wrenching options, or none at all, for survival.

The war in Ukraine is no small detail either. Without the US as a bulwark against Russia, Putin will not slow down. 2 weeks ago, under the radar for most people, the country of Georgia elected a pro-Russian PM. He has already issued an apology to the Kremlin for Georgia successfully defending itself against a Russian invasion in 2008. There will not be a second successful defense.

Do you know who the main power was in the world before World War 1?

You most likely don’t. Few people do.

It was the Ottoman Empire.

I laughed during the Covid pandemic, when everyone was acting as if this had never happened before. It’s important to research history and remember, the people living through those situations didn’t know how it would all shake out. They only knew what they needed to for their survival. The chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic is how humans always react when the world changes beyond their control. Things get weird.

Everyone has spent the last 4 years trying, and failing, to wrench the world back to the way it was before 2020.

It’s over.

It’s dead.

There is always room for hope. No change means stagnation and rot set in. We were slowly decaying, but no one wanted to cause the pain that will happen when things get shaken up. Now things will change whether we want it to or not, but there’s always hope.

Do what you can to help each other.

Volunteer.

Donate.

Go to protests.

Be present.

We can hold hands and keep everyone on their feet as we step into the new world. We can be strong. We can be optimistic and stick to our values. Things will hurt for now, but we can always keep fighting.

Keep fighting.

Never stop!

And remember;

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

– Martin Neimoller