It's a wonder that journalists are able to keep up with the unconscionable volume of news produced by our president, the fragile-egoed narcissist Donald Trump, and his white supremacist chief strategist (aka puppet master) Steve Bannon. Media channels are consistently exceeding engagement goals and testing their server load limits as the public is outraged into revolt. The public's consumption of news media may be at an all time high as we question the absurdity of our new reality and the outlook for our uncertain and unnerving future.
Shortly after Trump's incomprehensible election, I wrote a piece that promoted the idea that news is important and empathy for others is critical, but you and your well-being need to be nurtured as well in order for you to keep caring. Lately, however, I'm having a hard time pulling myself away from it. Sure I go outside every day, I walk my dog and enjoy sunshine and fresh air. Most of that walk I'm either scanning the latest news feed on Twitter or texting with friends and family about the latest policy change that has us distraught. I get busy with work and have to focus on meetings and deliverables, I cook, I do chores, I even socialize sometimes, and for at least a few hours a night, I sleep -- albeit restlessly. However, with a heightened sense of fear and unease triggered by this administration, I feel there's little time throughout my day that my anxiety isn't in overdrive making it impossible to truly step away from it.
In a torrent of news where each story is more heinous than the one before, the levels of shock, amazement, and complete exasperation begin to wear down our emotional response. Feelings of exhaustion and defeat surface as we try to pull ourselves away from the news for a healthier outlet, only to feel body slammed by the latest current event that gets our blood boiling once again.
The positive outcome is that our anger is driving people to march and protest, it's inciting phone calls to congress petitioning for actions to protect human rights and to stand up to the unethical and unlawful policies Trump and Bannon have crafted. It's prompting solidarity across groups of people who are coming together in a unified resistance. It's creating awareness and motivating action, and one can only hope that our future generations' leaders are being inspired today to fix what is an embarrassingly broken political system.
The negative outcome is that we're going to reach both resistance and media fatigue. It seems implausible that we can keep this momentum going for an entire presidential term. If we're so exhausted merely weeks into it, how can we keep fighting Trump on the next fascist behavior he exhibits? We're drawn to the current issue like moths to a fire and we're not paying attention to what's happening in the darkness behind us as they're working on far worse plans. Theories are circulating that perhaps this is Bannon's master plan at work to get the public riled up over measures that won't hold up in the law while he (er, they) can work on dismantling the government and our American democracy. As Jake Fuentes wrote, our resistance could be playing right into Trump's playbook.
We cannot allow ourselves to be so hyper-focused on one issue that we ignore the rest. We must remain vigilant and conserve some of our energy for the many remaining efforts ahead. We must ensure our crowds do not dwindle in size as we keep protesting and that our voices do not waiver as we continue to speak out. We need to support each other by providing strength and encouragement to keep fighting the good fight and standing up to the administration. We must recover from the divisiveness in our social circles caused by polarizing beliefs and find ways to join forces on some common beliefs. We must not become desensitized and we have to keep spreading awareness to inspire the generosity of financial contributions, pro bono legal support, countless hours of selfless volunteer efforts, and general human compassion and kindness.
We cannot let Trump get away with tyranny. We must resist. We will not let him exhaust us into submission.
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