NYT Charles Blow captures the current mess very well... "You Have a Right to Weariness"

[NRaleighLiberal]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/11/opinion/midterms-mueller-resistance.html

The struggle for goodness and decency is an eternal struggle, not a seasonal one.

Do we have a right to weariness in an era of animus? More precisely, can we afford it, or is exhaustion a luxury reserved for those whose wealth, privilege and status insulate them from the losses the rest of us could suffer? Does patriotic defense of country require perpetual, obsessive vigilance, or is it permissible to retreat occasionally for one’s own mental and spiritual health?

These are questions I ask myself regularly, and ones that are frequently asked of me, if not in those exact words. People are trying to figure out the proper posture to take in a world riven by deceit and corruption, a world in which the leadership of the country represents an assault on decency.

This is a conundrum, I must confess.

I, as much as anyone else, feel trapped by our current predicament. I would love nothing more than to write about other things, worthy things, more intellectually stimulating things. But for more than two years, I have written almost exclusively about Donald Trump.

I feel compelled by what I view as history, fundamental and consequential, playing out right before me with nothing short of the life of the republic at stake. And yet, at a certain point, words begin to fail, or the obvious has already been stated. Once you have pointed out that Trump is a liar, you can then note only that he is telling more lies. The same goes for his racism, bullying, anti-intellectualism, corruption and grift.


snip - lots more to read at the link - well worth it, and apologies for the paywall


last paragraph

Don’t beat yourself up if you need to tune out every now and then and take a mental health break. There is no shame in it. This is a forever fight. Once you have recharged, reapply your armor and rejoin the fight with even more vigor.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. It's an excellent article and I think he has the right ideas on coping.

Do what you can, when you can. This is an entirely inadequate synopsis, but it gets the point across.

Thanks for pointing the way through this morass, my dear NRaleighLiberal.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. thanks, sweetie! all of us here are riding sine waves of ups and downs at this time, I am sure

sometimes we get pissed, sometimes we feel like fighting, sometimes we wallow.

It is how I've tried - immersing in family, hobbies, nature, music, books, our pets- then come out and engage....then retrench when it gets to be too much.

We all need to find a way to get through this nightmare with our sanity - our lives, our joys - intact!

[bdamomma]

3. The last paragraph

is so right, THIS IS A FOREVER FIGHT. WE need to be normal again.

[smirkymonkey]

4. K&R

[Cha]

5. Well said..Thanks Charles!.. I don't beat

myself up when I take a break from the relentless gaslighting LIES from trump. I welcome it!

Thanks, NRaleightLiberal

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Optimists are seldom surprised by trouble. eom