I try to keep it light-ish (or at least politically neutral, although anyone who knows me in real life knows I’m a liberal pansy so whatever) around here but also this is where I go to word-vomit my feeeelllinnnggsss so here we go.
I’m legitimately terrified about the state of our nation right now. Finding a balance between staying informed but also taking a break from the news so that I don’t lose my shit is going to be key here. Ed took me away for my birthday last weekend and while I’d check my phone for directions to a restaurant I’d sneak a peek at the news pouring in. “Oh, the ACLU is blocking the ban. Make a left here to get to the champagne tasting room.” It was jarring and weird for both of us. The good news is that being in a state of abject terror distracted me from the fact that I turned 39 on Sunday (hold me).
So I’m doing what I can, where I can. I’ve set up monthly donations to Planned Parenthood and IRC. I need to budget in the ACLU there somewhere. When I was a starving student I remember a volunteer coordinator reminding me that if I didn’t have money time can be just as valuable, so it’s time to identify where I can give that, too. Thanks to My Civic Workout I receive a handy email each day to give me one action item to make my voice heard, often with a recommended script so there’s basically no excuse not to do something. It still feels Sisyphean in nature and like I could always be doing more. I also remind myself that I still need to go to work to get the paycheck that allows me to donate to the organizations I support, and that I’m not going to save the world by angrily re-Tweeting instead of having dinner with my dad. Not that I’m giving myself a hall pass from participating in civic life, oh no: I plan to recruit my family into this, too.
I promise to try to get back to the content you know and love: product reviews, dick jokes, and stories about a time when I acted like a complete moron (so, any given day). But I may indulge a little ranting (or, basic signal boosting of things that are of interest and concern to me) here and there. Hopefully a little of both will provide relief in this weird, uncertain time.
Is This Thing On? 