The world is changing…and so is Revellations. If you subscribe to our newsletter you might notice that we have a new look. Nothing else is changing her on the site (for now), but we’re happy to have some positive updates to report on in 2025. Because for the majority of this community I have a feeling the beginning of the year hasn’t felt chock full of happy news…
You might recall our post-election article, but now that we’re post-inauguration I think it’s time to revisit the issue of how women might be feeling in America right now. I was thrilled with the amount of feedback I received from people feeling that the article helped them articulate some of their feelings — and specifically their fears — so I want to keep the dialogue running as we step into the reality of living through these next four years.
It’s barely been two weeks, and the dominant message I’m receiving from the women (and a lot of the men) in my life is that they’re already exhausted. They’re emotionally drained. They’re overwhelmed. And they have no idea what to do from here. There have been scant few conversations I’ve had recently that haven’t devolved into discussing the current political climate in America. It’s on everybody’s mind. But nearly everyone I’ve spoken to has ultimately landed in one of two camps: ignore or rage.
The first group of people have decided that in order to protect their own sanity, they need to simply avoid the news. I’ve decided to start calling this the ostrich method (even though the fact that ostriches bury their head in sand has been debunked, the damage was already done it’s too good a visual to ignore), and boy do I understand the desire to do anything to protect your mental health right now.
The other side of the coin is people who have decided that being MAD is their only way forward. They post every single news item on social media with angry emojis and mocking commentary on the stupidity of renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America (can you believe that was only two weeks ago?). Their IG stories look a little something like this:
Now I understand these people too. In fact, that screenshot is from my own IG. But living in this perpetual state of rage is honestly crippling. And knowing what we do about how our new President operates, is quite frankly not sustainable.
So where’s the healthy medium? Is there a healthy medium?
I think the reason that I initially fell into the category of wanting to call attention to the ridiculousness of all of this is because it felt like I was doing something. Even if that was just spreading the word to my meager IG following. What can we as common citizens do between now and the midterms other than spreading our own gospel?
But instead of letting myself get pulled into reacting to every single action that the administration is taking right now, I’m trying to take a step back and shift my perspective on how to get through the next few years with purpose — and hopefully with my sanity intact.
First things first. It’s totally reasonable if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now. As my go-to political influencer Emily Amick put it on her own substack:
“Everything feels very overwhelming right now, and that is the goal of this administration. They want us to feel defeated and distracted and disempowered.”
There are a lot of reasons that so much is going on right now, and making us feel like we’re simply too drained to take action is certainly a happy side effect. So I’m sorry to my lovely ostriches, but I’m not going to advocate for the “pretend it isn’t happening” strategy.
What I *am* going to support is taking breaks when needed. And finding joy in the reality of our day-to-day lives, the people we love, and the kindness that still exists in the world around us (it does, I swear). But avoiding becoming ostriches doesn’t mean we allow ourselves to succumb to rage. Or worse, to helplessness. What we need to do as a collective is to think about how to focus our attentions and efforts so that we can not only survive the next four years but actually feel like we’re making an impact. Another one from Emily’s post felt apt here then I’m done quoting her for today I swear:
“The antidote to helplessness isn’t just hope—it’s purpose. We all have access to that, even when we’re totally overwhelmed.”
So how do we each find our own purpose? I’m going to try to outline a way to get started here:
- Ground yourself in what’s most important to you.
- There are quite simply too many issues to stay informed on each and every one of them on a normal day. But on a day where our new administration is throwing dozens of executive orders at us like a ball machine gone haywire, it’s not just impossible but debilitating to try. So stop trying, and focus your energy on the priorities that are closest to your heart.
- For example, my number one priority (to no one’s surprise) is reproductive rights. I want to personally stay informed on the different lawsuits inching their way towards the Supreme Court that could impact my right to control my own body. I want to have an opinion on how likely I think we are to see a national abortion ban passed through Congress during this administration (my personal opinion at this time: not low, but less than 50%, I think they’re going to leverage the courts rather than new laws). And I want my friends to feel like they can come to me if they’re confused or want to talk more about this issue specifically.
- Which brings me to my next point — just because you’ve decided you can’t be informed on every issue doesn’t mean you don’t care about it. I’m also a staunch supporter of common sense gun laws. I want to see us do more to combat climate change. But these aren’t my personal areas of (layman) expertise. So what do I do? I make sure I know people who are staying informed about these issues the same way I’m trying to be on top of reproductive rights. And I turn to them for guidance on those issues.
- Stay informed. But give yourself room to breathe.
- Ground yourself in the reality of this new administration.
- Our President and his supporters do not care if you call him a hypocrite. No one blinks an eye if he makes a grand declaration that is clearly in service of his own ego rather than the country at large (yes, I’m bringing up the “Gulf of America” again, so sue me). Stop trying to win at a game when you’re the only player — the war of words is a one-sided battle that the left is waging with itself. I’m not trying to imply that words don’t matter (um, hello? I’m a writer.), but I’m saying that with a limited supply of energy, this effort is not one that’s going to bear any fruit with this particular administration.
- Similarly, don’t let yourself get pulled into reacting to statements or perceived actions from the administration that are actually nothing more than bluster. Was the barrage of executive orders after inauguration terrifying? Yes. And it painted quite the picture of the current administration’s priorities overall. But a lot of them won’t actually end up happening. Some were simply the President “making good” on promises kept on the campaign trail to make someone feel better about the millions they donated. And others are grand gestures that are likely negotiation tactics or something that he’s banking on being forgotten by the time they become relevant (withdrawing from the WHO is a good example here — in order to actually withdraw, the US is required to give one-year notice and to settle all of its dues prior to withdrawal. He can’t simply snap his fingers and withdraw. A lot can happen in a year).
- I know it’s impossible to dig into every action and statement of the administration when they’re literally going ham right now. But this goes back to the first point of being intentional about your attention. Don’t get sucked into the rage bait if you can help it. Leave Greenland to the Greenlanders…for now.
- Finally, start thinking about what actions you can take.
- This final point is the one that I’m personally spending a lot of time contemplating right now. And given the length of this article I’m probably going to make it its own post in the future. But one of the big takeaways from the election needs to be that posting infographics on IG, signing petitions, going to marches, and donating to GoFundMe’s is not how we’re going to win this battle. We need to think about what tangible actions we can all be taking as individuals to impact our future wellbeing as a country.
- I promise to do an in-depth look at this later, but for now I think we all need to realize that as individuals, one of the most powerful actions we can do is stay connected to our communities. The group of people who read this newsletter is one community. But what of your others? Are you keeping each other informed? Are you caring for your members in need? Shielding those that need protection?
- Let’s start there.
What actions are you taking to stay sane and stay connected? I want to hear about them.
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