(This is wuh-hay more important than the time I told you you had spinach in your teeth.)
Dear ones,
You’ve known me a long time. You know I used to avoid the news just like you. You chuckled when I had to google “MAGA” nearly a year into Trump’s first term. Heck, you clued me in on “sleepy Joe” ‘cause I missed the memo about Biden’s nickname. You appreciate I’m the friend who’s not prone to worry or drama. Sometimes, I’m a comforting voice of reason for you thanks to my steady demeanor and realistic perspective on life.
I mention all this to calibrate you to the seriousness of my different tone and message these days. I’ve got something incredibly important to convey to you. Why else would your perpetually prudent pal veer from her regularly scheduled programming of puns, platitudes and puppy dog pics to sound the alarm about U.S. politics?
Did you know I mourned when the results came in on election day? That I curled up on my bed and cried on inauguration day? I didn’t have such visceral responses because the person I voted for lost. I mourned and wept for our Democracy. Trump is an authoritarian—supported by oligarchs, flanked by dictators and sycophants and scripted by the far white’s Project 2025. I knew what his win meant for the governance of our country.
Unfortunately, my grief and tears have been justified. Our Democracy has suffered daily blitzkriegs since this regime took office. No weekends off. As I’m writing this now, we’re 65 days in, and I’ve gone from mourning to anger to disbelief to disgust to, now, somberness.
News avoidant as you are, I’m guessing you caught wind of this week’s headline about top cabinet officials using Signal. Not only did they inadvertently add a journalist to the chat, they used a commercially available, unsecured app to discuss classified plans about a military strike on Yemen. Maybe you rolled your eyes, shrugged it off and kept scrolling your social media. After all, such glaring ineptitude is the stuff of sitcom scripts. The only thing I know about Yemen is that Chandler faked moving there to avoid Janice.
But this is not a sitcom, nor is it even a reality show. It’s absolutely real life, and everything that’s happened since the news came out has brought me to my somber state. If this regime continues to address this atrocious situation as it has thus far, be assured that increasingly loud sound you’re hearing is, indeed, the toll of Democracy’s death knell coming closer and closer.
In a functioning Democracy, these highest level security officers in the government would’ve been forced to resign immediately upon news breaking. They all violated a myriad of laws, regulations and protocols. Their careless actions reveal incompetency, a disregard for military personnel’s safety, lack of protection of U.S. operations from hacking by the likes of Russia and intention to avoid the lawful retention of their communications. They’ve changed their stories, blatantly lied and pettily deflected blame. Yet they are all presently still in their positions without admonition or penalty.
Though a president is to be included in such matters, Trump was not part of this messaging thread, flawed as it was, and he’s thoroughly revealed his gaping lack of knowledge about the tangled affair. His handling of the entire incident can factually be described as uninformed, indifferent and detached.
In learning about this egregious debacle, I happened upon another acronym I needed to google: DARVO. It stands for Deny—Attack—Reverse Victim & Offender. This regime has applied each aspect of this manipulation formula in spades. They’ve also attempted to “wag the dog” by changing the story to a ridiculous executive order about voting regulations and bringing up the very old topic of Hilary Clinton’s email server.
Beyond the dog wagging, other actions by the regime this week have compounded my somberness (and it’s only Thursday).
- The dehumanizing display of migrant detainees in a cage behind a perfectly coifed Kristi Noem.
- The Tufts PhD student captured on the street by ICE agents.
- The ceaseless attacks on the judicial system, our last line of defense for Democracy.
- The continued degrading of Social Security.
That’s not even the complete list. It’s all so sobering—and exhausting.
As long as you’ve known me, I’ve been a realist. Being realistic about the state of situations is hardwired in my factory settings. I summon optimism, pessimism or a blended perspective based on honest assessments of prevailing conditions and projected outcomes. That I’m writing to you today with such somberness should be an alert in itself.
But I’ll close with the positives. These are the things I can cling to and appreciate amidst the stark reality. What will you add to this list?
- I’m a critical thinker who doesn’t succumb to propaganda.
- I can write this article and share it publicly.
- I am still able to stand up, speak out and protest.
- Factual news remains available to me.
- In this moment, I’m comfortable, fed and safe.
- The sun, birds and blooms remind me it’s springtime.
- My inner peace is in tact.
- I love and am loved.
I appreciate you—for reading this far and being here with me. Let’s keep linking arms. I understand it’s hard to watch the news, so I’ll handle that task for now and do my part to share what you need to know. Per usual, I’ve got loads of accurate sources and citations; just ask if you’d like to learn more!
Right now, I’m going to log off this laptop and go on a long walk with my little dog who’s been stationed by the window, barking at joggers while I’ve been typing. I guess we all have roles to play in protecting each other, huh?
Until next time, my fellow defenders of Democracy,
Irene