Exhausted by the Panic

By the end of 2017, I'll care much less about all things political. I'm already finding the constant calls to "do something" exhausting. Sorry, but no... I'm not going to "do" anything anymore.

I wrote... and wrote. I made art, including a satirical campaign film.

Like many, I voted. I didn't get my way.

Listening to Ohio and WV radio stations, I realize that the planned protests actually deepen the support some have for the winner. It makes them all the more committed to resisting "left-coast" radicals and the "elites" they already distrust and dislike.

My job is to take care of our kiddos and take care of myself. That's about all I can manage, right now.

And I'm pretty convinced that little will change (not nearly as much as some fear/believe) in a year or four years.

Activism can wait until I'm up to it. Right now, the panic seems a bit much. Maybe it isn't, but it seems over the top to me.

No, the new president isn't a good man, or even someone who seems to try to be good. I realize that. But, I don't know that I can care as much as my friends and colleagues seem to care.

I cannot be the only person suffering from Trump fatigue. Look, all the requests to "do something" are understandable, but I'm exhausted. I wrote columns, I made a satirical political ad, and I voted.

He's not someone I admire. Not someone I believe even tries to be a decent person. But, I'm not going to be making calls, writing letters, telling my neighbors (or their children) how wrong they were, or doing more than my already overtaxed mind and body can bear.

I'm glad so many people can be passionate and do things. Good for you. Do what you can, as long as you also don't burn out as a result.

But, don't take my need to recharge as not caring and don't tell me I need to do more. It's not like I'm going to stop writing, which is what I do and often draining enough emotionally (and physically). 

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