Last week, I wrote that I’m hopeful about America’s future because my friends, family and regular folks are more engaged than I’ve seen…
Last week, I wrote that I’m hopeful about America’s future because my friends, family and regular folks are more engaged than I’ve seen them in my adult life. I still am, here’s a nice example of what I mean, from a friend in an email group:
Now, I’m aware it’s not all sweetness and light right now. We’ve started barring refugees and requiring religious tests at our borders. Apparently, even Dick Cheney is outraged by this. The concerns are less about where we are today than where all this is leading, because there’s some pretty bad historical precedent if we’re not careful.
If we’re going to keep our democracy, staying vigilant and active are exactly how we’re going to do it. This brings me back to my hope because last weekend witnessed the largest protest in American history.
Over 400,000 New Yorkers joined millions more Americans for the Women’s March last Saturday.
It’s only been one chaotic week since then. Before being elected, Trump drew up a “Contract With the American Voter” and made specific and discrete promises about what he would do his first day in office. So how’d he do? 4 out of 18 according to the Atlantic; 2 out of 36 according to Think Progress. The best report I found on the president’s first week in office is from Politico. The post is a clear-eyed overview and scores the week’s initiatives on both impact and importance. It’s a nice way to make sense of so many stories that keep developing.
“this Week One saga staked out new territory in Orwellian up-is-down-ism, forcing Americans to choose whether to believe Trump or their lying eyes…it gives the United States a banana republic feel.”
I hope banana republic is as bad as it gets. I’m really glad so many folks care and are paying attention. It’s hard to fathom four years of this. But if we’re going to stay sane, we have to remember this is a marathon not a sprint. Eat well, stay hydrated and get 8 hours of sleep : ) And remember — bananas are a great source of potassium.