After my husband sent me the cartoon below, I thought about several conversations I had at the grocery store recently. I ran into and chatted with a half dozen friends. Everyone says how are you? I answer "I'm OK, personally" and then add " even though things are falling apart and going terribly wrong."
I picked up this framing from an op ed by Masha Gessen.
I also made a point to remember her closing statement about standing up for others whose rights and resources are being taken away:
"The reason you should care about this is not that it could happen to you, but that it is already happening to other people."
The people in the cartoon could be supporting each other instead of living as individuals in fear and pretending things are fine.
Like Bernie said, "not me, us." His rallies showed thousands of people they are not alone.
My conversation "opener" often leads to more real discussion and the possibility of an invitation to take action, join something! After the first Trump election I joined NYC-DSA (Democratic Socialists of America). The organization is seeing record growth right now. Why? The election, feckless dems, and depression. Join something, do something with other people and you'll feel better. But, it's more than a mood enhancer.
I almost always talk about what's getting me up out of bed in the morning, and that thing is working to elect Zohran Mamdani as NYC mayor. He's running so that working people don't have to leave their home to move somewhere less expensive.
Cartoon: Veneer of normalcy
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