Persist

This week as I sit here trying to decide what to write, I’m having a hard time.

There are lots of things I could comment on or complain about. I am not without silly inconveniences, amusing anecdotes, or straight up problems.

For example, my new couch is too comfortable; I’ve slept on it by accident more than once. I used to sleep on the old, less comfortable couch on the days when I really needed to wake up early because it was easier to wake up. Now I no longer have that option. Quite a conundrum for a deep sleeper such as myself.

Or perhaps I can interest you in an amusing anecdote? The other night I was in the bathtub enjoying the hot water and reading a book when the corner shelving unit in the shower fell down on top of me sending bottles flying everywhere and causing me to slosh a LOT of water over the side of the tub. My book is now misshapen and the bathmat is still drying.

As for problems: at the moment I am irritable, my uterus is trying to kill me, I need new glasses, I don’t want to have to work tomorrow, I need to go to the dentist, I need to make an appointment with my gyno, I can’t get one of my cross stitch projects to lay flat in its frame, all of the charging cords for my work computer and home computer are a tangled mess beside the couch, and my nose is running out of my right nostril only for some reason. Oh, and I’m grieving a major loss, but I don’t want to talk about that.

I do not lack for subject matter, but my issue is that in the grand, global scheme of things nothing I could write about today seems to matter, or at least doesn’t matter as much as the shit coming through the headlines every day.

This past week I had the chance to hear a few people speak about their lived experience so far under this new regime. I’ve known all along from the news reports that people are scared, but hearing those I know personally speak about how pervasive the fear is in their daily lives really struck me. They have lost any feeling of safety or security that they may have had before the country started racing backwards in time from our systemic, de facto racism back to de jure racism - racism by law, or executive order.

I cannot recall how many times over the last several weeks I have said in conversation, “he is playing by Hitler’s playbook.” Because he is, that is what this is. We have to say that a lot and accept that it is true even though it is terrifying. We cannot allow ourselves to believe that what happened under Hitler could never happen here in the United States; whatever false sense of security that may provide us is not worth the risk of allowing horrific things to happen right under our noses.

I’ve been trying to figure out something that I can do about all this, some way that I can contribute to a solution and not just sit in the fear. I’m not sure what actions I can take that might help, but I’m looking for something. Mostly I want to support those who are scared for their lives, I want to find a way to give some kind of comfort or relief. I want to resist and fight back. I want to do something.

So, you see, as I’m sitting here thinking about all of these things, it feels frivolous to consider writing a post about my new couch. Because, honestly, who gives a shit?

A few weeks ago I came home to a package on my doorstep from one of my best friends. It was a sign that reads, “The horrors persist but so do I”. She knows that 2025 has not been great so far. I placed the sign on the ledge between my kitchen and living room so I can easily see it from the couch. When I am royally pissed off or gut-wrenchingly sad or afraid and angry over the headlines, I glance over at the sign. It doesn’t make anything go away, but it makes me feel a little bit better. It reminds me that even if I haven’t figured out a tangible way to fight back yet, at least I’m not giving up. Persistence is, in a small way, a little bit of resistance.

That is one thing I can do, that we can all do: keep going. Don’t give up. Never surrender. Fight the good fight. Insert any other cliche you can think of that means persist.

Oh! Don’t let the bastards get you down. That’s a good one.