Welcome to Absurdity
Graphite pencil on paper
by Cheryl McDonald, 1995©
Welcome to Absurdity,
Please take a number.
The lunatics have taken over the asylum
No one seems to be running the show.
Once upon a time, courtesy and respect were given,
but the queen has died and left the building.
We mourn the end of an era.
Wondering about what’s next.
Dancing monkeys and kittens on screens
Are all that seem to remain of joy.
Balanced on the head of a needle
His Highness declares his false victories.
Take your pick, there are many vying for the position.
As the earth burns and the sky grays with smoke.
Nuclear winter approaches.
Are the changes needed too big to happen?
Many avoid the chaos, waiting for a savior.
Somewhere there is a sky of blue
Maybe it takes a trip over the rainbow.
Hitch your wagon to the next Kansas wind.
Shall we go before it’s too late?
Cheryl McDonald
2022©
Exhaustion… Chaos… Destruction… Uncertainty… Fear…
And we are only past the first 10 days!
Those of us who have been trying to sound the alarm since before the election about what was coming do not feel any pride in knowing. It was clear, the man himself told us in his few moments of clarity what his intentions were. It was even published for all to read in Project 2025.
In a little over a week, he has destroyed relationships with our allies, dismantled government agencies, disabled or rescinded funding for programs like healthcare, education, welfare, and defense, as well as the livelihood of many people across this country.
It is unclear whether the goal is to cause enough damage to send the country into a serious recession or depression, untether the United States from the rest of the world, or turn this country into an authoritarian state—or possibly all of the above. Our Allies are scratching their heads and taking precautions to distance themselves from this craziness, which is causing distress and confusion throughout the world.
There is no way to put a positive spin on what we are going through and we are going to have to find ways to support each other. We are a resilient and ingenious culture and if we harness these things within ourselves and our communities, we will prevail. We will need to remind ourselves and each other of these traits often.
We are going to need each other and build connections to protect and defend each other through what is coming. I still hope that our courts and maybe Congress will protect our constitution, even the conservative Supreme Court has made a few rulings over the last year that upheld the rule of law. BTW where are the Democrats? Why do we hear so little from them?
I also think we need to find ways that we can use to resist and make our preferences known to our congresspeople, supporting organizations that are fighting for us, and using our dollars to help those who support a free democracy, not those who are trying to do away with it, ie oligarchs supporting the president.
I have been doing a lot of reading over the last week, finding sources that give me ideas. For instance, I want to stop supporting companies like Amazon, Meta, and all of those others that can’t wait for This new government to pull the rug out from under us so they can make even more money. I spend very little time on Facebook or the other properties of Meta anymore and even though it does connect me to people I know in various places, so does email, my newsletter, and this blog. I do not find social media particularly helpful as a marketing or information engine because I don’t get to decide which posts I receive or who my posts go to, Meta does! I have no control over what they choose to post or not.
I think we all got spoiled during the pandemic, ordering from Amazon was convenient and easy. However, now that Bezos chooses to support an authoritarian regime, do I really want to support him anymore?
I think it is time for us to re-evaluate our lives and our choices on many levels and find ways to support local small businesses and global small businesses more than ever before. It occurs to me that there are several small businesses that use Amazon as their main advertising and shipping engine. Why not use amazon to look for products and then go to the small business website directly to order? Shipping might be a bit higher, however, supporting that small business directly will help them grow and probably give them a bigger profit than they would get if you buy their product through Amazon.
We need ideas, and they are out there, just as there are many people out there who are struggling with this whole thing as we are.
In short, there are no easy answers, but there are many things we can do, and action is a true destroyer of fear. Gather with your friends and colleagues, talk to each other work with each other this is our best way forward I believe. And please don’t give up or give in. That is what they are hoping we will do.
Please subscribe to this blog and share it with your friends. I don’t charge to subscribe and the more like minds we have working and sharing ideas, the better.
Thanks for reading, and never give up.
Have a Happy Day!
Cheryl
If you have found new resources or have a different social media you like, please share them with us. We all need to find new connections.
On to the Next Adventure 