20-03-2025
Protecting your peace in the Trump/Musk ‘hurriquakenado'
If this unnatural disaster of a presidency — what I'm calling the Trump/Musk
hurriquakenado
— feels overwhelming, that's because it's designed to feel overwhelming. Public exhaustion from the onslaught is a crucial part of this administration's diabolical scheme. What Musk, Trump, and their minions want is to wear their opposition down and out to the point where people are too numb to move, let alone resist. Then the wholesale destruction and corruption of the government and this nation can continue unimpeded.
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So I implore you to rest and protect your peace as best you can. This isn't about disengaging but doing the things that you enjoy to allow you to recharge and prepare for all the unknowns that lie ahead. Think of it as a civilian version of the military's wartime 'R&R' — rest and recuperation — which allows servicemembers time away from the daily and dangerous grind to replenish their spirit and relax their mind.
Here are a few suggestions:
Spend more time with people who support you and won't downplay your worries.
There's already enough gaslighting emanating from the White House — you don't need anyone telling you that you're overreacting in these perilous times. (The road to hell is paved by people telling you to 'calm down.') Misery really does love company and surrounding yourself with friends and family who are also feeling frightened, uncertain, even a little helpless can make you feel less alone.
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Less screen time.
Even if you're just playing your favorite word game or flicking through the hundreds of Instagram reels or TikTok videos sent to you every hour of every day by friends and family (yes, I do this, too), the temptation to end up
Now my nightcap of choice is an episode or two of my all-time favorite TV show, 'The Rockford Files' — except for the one with the closing message about 'secret information centers' that are 'building dossiers on individuals' that we 'have no legal right to know about' and how 'our liberty may well be the price we pay for permitting this to continue unchecked.' (That's in 'The House on Willis Avenue' from 1978.)
And remember that you aren't helpless.
As the great Lyn Collins said on '
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If representatives decline to host and attend town halls — as Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has advised GOP House members — then constituents should call or email their offices. Let them know that they owe the people who they represent detailed explanations about what they're doing to stop Trump and Musk from running roughshod over Americans' rights, the Constitution, and this nation's global standing. And let them know that if they're unwilling to do so, then voters will fire them.
Here's the thing. If you've ever wondered what you would do in a time of crisis, you're doing it right now. There's no sanctuary on the sidelines. But remember this is a marathon, not a sprint, and we're not even 100 days into this cataclysmic administration. Pace yourself, enjoy what you can, but do something. We can survive this.
As James Baldwin, gone nearly 40 years but guiding and teaching us still, said, 'Throw everything out of your mind … read a little, sleep. The world will still be here when you wake up, and there'll still be everything left to do.'
This is an excerpt from
, a Globe Opinion newsletter from columnist Renée Graham.
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