Sometimes when I try to write, I find it hard to breathe. No, it’s not my asthma or a panic attack, but rather a lack of air caused by the news media breathlessly awaiting the next outrage from the man sitting in the White House.
His random tweetstorms and his complete inability to focus on anything other than himself has sucked all the air out of the country. From late-night comedians to news commentators to columnists like myself, the target-rich environment engulfing Washington makes discussion of anything else next to impossible.
The result is a fatigue that makes each new outrage seem just that much more “business as usual.” It has numbed our country into accepting what is going on as almost normal.
At times like these I have to step away, find some fresh air and breath in deep. As I exhale, I find myself shouting, “This is not normal! None of this is normal!”
Take a breath and say it with me:
“THIS IS NOT NORMAL! NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL!”
The danger in not doing this little exercise is that, come November, when we actually have a chance to raise our voices at the polls, will we already have been lulled into complacency and thus neglect that last defense against this creeping insanity?
This administration, headed by a world-class conman, is doing its best to flood the media with so much madness that we will just throw up our hands and surrender. Stories of MAGA drones starting a civil war, should Trump be impeached, are put out there to scare us into complacency.
Tropes like, “All politicians are the same,” and “All of them are crooked” play into the plan to stifle our votes and our outrage.
We must not let this happen.
Do not fall prey to analyses claiming that low turnout for the runoff elections shows how little power the much-talked-about “blue wave” actually has. No — the sad turnout was the result of lackluster campaigning and an uninspired electorate.
Texans have bought the story that Greg Abbott has too much money to defeat. That attitude doesn’t help anything. And though Beto O’Rourke has gained an impressive following, that will do no good unless Texans vote a straight ticket in November.
And in case you didn’t know, this is your last chance to do so, at least until we change the Legislature.
We as progressives, cannot look for a savior to fix this mess — not in our state or in our country.
What we can do is to remove every candidate who supports the fascist-leaning politics coming from Pennsylvania Avenue.
We can discard the illusion that “voting for a third party sends a message.” That is one of the ways of thinking that put us in our present sad state.
We can also discard the idea that we can only vote for an ideologically pure candidate, one who aligns completely with our values. Here is a reality check: That candidate doesn’t exist!
We as progressives can also get involved. Go to organizational meetings; join fellow LGBTQ progressives; find campaigns you can work for, and open your pocketbooks to support progressive candidates with as much money as you can.
“Oh my Gawd!” you say. “He is asking me to get into politics!”
Yes he is.
It is going to be a wild voyage to November, and you can either watch from the shore and do nothing as our country careens toward totalitarianism, or you can climb onboard and try to help steer this Ship of State back toward the country it can be. You know, that “home of the free”?
To do that, it’s going to take a lot of wind in the sails, and that means we all need to catch our breath so we can stir up that wind.
So take a break from the Trump circus, store up some of your outrage and get your lungs full so that in November we can actually blow that Blue Wave through the Texas State House and all the way to Washington.
We can’t afford to fail during this midterm. Don’t listen to the pundits and analysts; do listen to your inner voice. If it’s anything like mine, it’s sick and tired of the hot air coming out of the Oval Office, and it knows the only way to stop it is with a breath of fresh air.
Be part of that breeze, and it can become a mighty wind that will wash the Blue Wave into existence.
Hardy Haberman is a longtime local LGBT activist and a board member of the Woodhull Freedom Alliance. His blog is at DungeonDiary.blogspot.com.
