When the New Year rolled around, instead of settling on a resolution or looking for a reset, I was focused on my outrage and disbelief. I’ve been feeling disoriented in a country that, until November, I had always had pride in. We, as a nation, have been far from perfect since the beginning, but I had always felt that good sat more heavily than bad on the scale and would always prevail.
The concepts of good and bad can be many-layered and heavily subjective, but some things just can’t be anything but greedy and cruel. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck…
So, what now? What can we do, those of us who are having trouble recognizing the U.S.A. in 2025? I have some ideas: listen to and support those who are marginalized; continue to teach my students how to actively and respectfully listen to one another, how to identify bias in what they read and hear, seek multiple perspectives, and be kind to themselves and to others. I can love my family and friends and remain curious.
What about those who make me the angriest and most confused? What about the neighbor who thinks most trans people are criminals? Who thinks shutting down the USAID is a cost-cutting necessity? Does she know or care how devasting this is to so many who have so much less than her? I have seen her organize meal trains for sick friends, be the first to offer up her home when half the neighborhood was without power. How do I reconcile this with her politics? I also think the crisis we’re in right now is much bigger than “politics.” We are not dealing with mere politics here.
So many questions, so much frustration. Setting my feelings down here is a start.
My Corner of the Village 