Morning Mourning

Every day for the past month has started with a feeling of loss. I scroll through the news on my phone, and, inevitably, I see something that breaks my heart a little. When I wake up, I’m hopeful, thinking, there’s no way today can top yesterday. And then it does. Again and again and again.

Every morning, I mourn the loss of human decency, ethics, morals, law, equity, and of our collective future. The Trump and Musk regime have managed to destroy thousands of jobs, billions in investments, the country’s leadership in the world, and any hope we may have held out that they will do the right thing. And they’re just getting started.

SIDENOTE: Although my politics are clear, this goes so much beyond politics.What kills me the most is how shortsighted they are, especially when it comes to cutting science. All the research and innovation that we will lose due to lack of funding will not magically come back when a new president (hopefully) comes in. We are losing these four years and compounding their effect, just like interest. To me personally, this is the biggest loss that I mourn every day on top all the others that come each morning.

Unless you live under a rock, this is not new information to you. While I can’t speak for every person, I think it’s safe to assume that many people experience something similar. I believe we’re collectively stuck in a cycle of grief, and unless we break out, there’s no hope of change.

Let’s look at an example – Trump calling himself “king” and thoughts that may have gone through your head:

• Denial – There’s no way he’s that narcissistic and that dumb. This must be AI-generated. It’s not even a funny joke.

• Anger – What the actual fuck? Why isn’t this the headline on the news? It’s unconstitutional! We fought a war so that we’d never have a king. Why isn’t he arrested?

• Bargaining – I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s shocked by this. I will call my congressional rep and they will help.

• Depression – No one in power cares. They don’t even acknowledge that it’s a problem. I don’t know what to do anymore.

• Acceptance – This is the new normal.

Guess what? Trump calling himself king came and went. So much has happened since then that it’s just a faint blip on the radar. We just accepted it as a thing that happened and moved on.

Depending on your media consumption and social circles, you would have experienced varying degrees of outrage at this behavior from a sitting president, on official government social media. Maybe you’re not “over it,” but is it the thing that’s currently occupying your thoughts? Was this the big thing you were mourning this morning? I bet it wasn’t.

It looks to me like the multiple daily shocks are deliberate. If there’s enough that we are given to react to, then it’s easier to do more. It’s a tactic to desensitize us to Musk and Trump’s actions. It’s a playbook based on psychology, and it’s working.

What can you do?

I firmly believe that awareness and understanding are what leads to change. In the first week of the new regime, I was firmly stuck in denial. It was only when I observed the cyclical reactions in others that it occurred to me that this is all too familiar and predictable – it’s the stages of grief. Since then, I’ve been able to recognize this in myself, and, to a degree, manage my own response to the daily deluge of heartbreak.

I encourage you to pay closer attention to your own reactions and how current events make you feel. Note them down. Once you’re aware of what’s happening to your own mind and body, you can try to understand it and maybe even do something about it. We have four years (minimum) of this and the human mind and body aren’t designed for such continued daily rollercoasters. It will break us if we don’t do something. Remember – you need to “put on your own gas mask first” before you help others.

Hopefully, once you recognize the emotions you’re experiencing right now, you’ll be able to get out of that cycle of grief and join the people who are organizing protests, lawsuits, and boycotts. We must take an active role and influence our collective future as much as possible. We can’t become desensitized to the illegal, unethical and cruel actions of the Musk/Trump machine.