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Writing out my thoughts has always been cathartic. Yet lately I have been suffering from severe writer’s block. It is not for lack of thoughts in my head, for they are ever-swirling. Nor is it due to lack of passion, for I have never felt such deep concern and anxiety for my country’s future.
Were I to name a culprit for my inability to express my feelings it would be due to despair. I am overwhelmed by all the negative and hateful actions and rhetoric spewing from the current administration. Actions that once would have caused gasps of horror and mass outcry are now commonplace.
The despair I feel is not that of a future bereft of hope but rather a deep sense of loss for what we once had in this nation — facts, reason, logic, compassion, and empathy — all that once anchored us to a common reality has now become untethered. A nation once seemingly united in its ideals of peace and justice is now fragmented and drifting apart.
I have never felt both so resolute and so fatigued, so angry yet so sad. I fear for the future of my family, my home, my nation. I know that I am not alone in these feelings — there are many who share my pain and sorrow for what is being demolished before our eyes. This knowledge gives me strength and even a glimmer of hope.
Despite all the bad that is hammering down on us daily, there are still those of us who keep standing back up. They are the true patriots, trying to keep our democracy alive through these dark times.
John Hessler
Ellsworth
