Trying to Live and Dissent All at the Same Time
On the never ending rollercoaster that is the US
A day in the life of this 2025 dissenter -
5 a.m. - wake up, make coffee, doom-scroll/hope-scroll for an hour
6 a.m. - get ready for work. Think in the shower about all the things we could be doing differently.
7 a.m. - leave for work. Blast music for the 25 minute car ride. Anywhere from RATM, Tool, Nat King Cole, Macklemore, Sage Francis, 80s Summer Hits, 90s Alternative.
7:30 a.m. - clock in for work.
Check emails.
Think about all the things.
Check more emails.
Check news.
Doom-scroll.
Text friends various forms of “do you see this shit?”
Eat something. Drink more water.
Think about all the things I want to write about. Brainstorm ideas.
Email my state Reps.
Read articles.
Read pieces about how to fight fascism.
Look for organizations to join.
Remember that I don’t like groups.
Look for orgs to support.
Doom-scroll again.
Look at BREAKING NEWS! again.
Work.
3:55 p.m. leave work. Drive home blasting more music.
4:30 p.m. arrive home. Take pill. Make dinner.
5 - 5:30 p.m. Eat dinner.
6 p.m. - doom-scroll/hope-scroll.
7 p.m. - read.
9 p.m. - 10 p.m. fall asleep.
Breaking it all down like that makes me tired. And that doesn’t include what my weekend looks like.
I have started to notice the stress levels impacting my health. And so I give myself permission to take a day or two to not doomscroll/hopescroll. I find something else to focus on. Staying in the fight also means making room for joys, no matter how small.
The rollercoaster ride we’ve been assigned to in this life is not for the faint hearted. Engaging in the fight also requires patience with ourselves and each other. I forget often that even with all the five-alarm fires happening, patience is still needed. As long as we don’t give up or turn away, as long as we find ways to lean on each other, as long as we keep going forward…maybe, just maybe, we’ll be alright.
Resources:
https://5calls.org/
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/
Tell me friends- how are you taking care of yourself these days? What does a typical day look like for you?
Thanks so much for being here! Keep going. Keep dissenting!
“While some people think that dissent is unpatriotic, I would argue that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. In fact, if patriotism means being true to the principles for which your country is supposed to stand, then certainly the right to dissent is one of those principles. And if we’re exercising that right to dissent, it’s a patriotic act.” - Howard Zinn (Dissent In Pursuit Of Equality, Life, Liberty And Happiness, Howardzinn.org)
This is such a difficult balancing act. We want to be aware of what's going on so we can speak out against it, but at the same time it's so disheartening. I've started grimacing just opening an app or my browser, afraid of what awful news I might see. It all just feels so petty and devastating at the same time. It's like this administration thought, "What are the most disenfranchised and vulnerable populations so we can target them first and then work our way back, stopping just shy of those with any real power."
The stress on our nervous systems is exhausting, but who am I to turn away when people are really suffering? More chocolate and coffee for breakfast, Netflix and Apple TV for the rest of the day? Sending you hugs Mesa. I've heard cursing is helpful when one is in pain so I'll end by saying "Fuck this motherfucking shit." Meh, marginally better. XO ❤️🥰
I’m way over in the protecting myself part of the continuum, which if you knew me and my history you would find shocking. I spent my entire career working in mental health and disabilities, and i care deeply. In the not too distant past, at the expense of myself - which is why i feel the need to protect myself now. When i read about things affecting someone it feels like it’s mine too. Yesterday I was thinking about how cold it’s been here (near zero) so I gave money to organizations who house and care for the homeless. I give regularly to a women’s shelter, food bank, The Bail Project and a few others I’m not thinking of at the moment. I’m in a different phase of life so maybe I’m more focused on caring for myself? As I type this I’m feeling selfish but i know it isn’t. I have health problems, c being one-i refuse to spell that damn word out) so it’s important i keep my inflammation levels down. Something happened a few years ago that drove home what stress does to the body. I was doing a cardiac stress test and because of all the cycling my heart rate wouldn’t get high enough to stop the test. After several minutes she told me to think of something upsetting - it was 2019 so i thought of trump - and literally a few seconds later she said “okay that did it we’re done” and it was so fast and all i had done differently was think about the asshole i thought she had to be joking. She wasn’t. A few seconds of thinking about him was all it took - even when the actual exertion of walking fast at an incline hadn’t. Mental stress had trumped (sorry for the pun and this long comment too!) physical stress!! I’ve never forgotten it. It showed me first hand how just my thoughts impact my body and thus my health. I think we all need to do what is best for us and i am immensely grateful to everyone fighting this fight but for the most part (i call and write my so-called representatives and give money to organizations and volunteer weekly at another) I’m sitting this one out. I can’t say it is right, just right for me at this time. Thank you for fighting for us, Mesa. 💙