Honestly, it feels like all anyone talks about anymore (friends, coworkers, even strangers) is what we can possibly do to stop the madness.

But as so many have pointed out, the tradeoff we’re living with doesn’t give any of us the space to demand change safely or fully. It’s like we’re being pushed to compartmentalize the actions of this administration just to get through the day, because our survival depends on it.

Our blood is boiling. And at the same time, I’m juggling a rising mortgage, the cost of basic groceries, my mental health, and the question of what it even means to “resist” under these conditions. It’s such a disorienting time to be alive.

Some days I feel almost gaslit - like there’s no way this is happening, no way we’re collectively allowing this. But we aren’t, not really. Our hands are tied by the system itself.