Choose Your Issue!

Where to begin?  After a week of outrage, turmoil, confusion, anxiety – you name it – I can only repeat my “Expect the worst and you won’t be disappointed” mantra.

There is no escape.  Sticking my head in the sand doesn’t work.  Yelling loudly like a five-year-old to drown out the unwanted noise is only a temporary distraction.  The bad news is like a tsunami that won’t stop and there’s no place to hide.

Taking to the streets has some utility.  At least it provides the appearance of fighting back.  Expressions of dissent on social media and news media are not a waste of time.  Using the courts, where appropriate, to stem the tide can yield at least a temporary respite from egregious actions.  But more is needed.

Those with power in institutions not beholden to the executive branch need to stand up – sooner rather than later – and battle back.  Elected officials will only respond if they are threatened by an enraged electorate.  Holding onto their jobs is more important to them than ideology.

This is only the beginning.  Preserving what is great about this country won’t happen overnight.  The threats will keep coming, so there will be many more battles to fight.  In the end that’s a good thing.  We won’t have time to become complacent.

In the meantime, I’m off to India day after tomorrow.  Will all this look different from there?  We’ll see.