Keep Gasping

And keep fighting, even though you're exhausted

I’m not sure what I thought four years of another Trump term would look like when I started this Substack, but the reality we are living in is not it. I assumed it would be like the last one. I remember feeling overwhelmed by the daily onslaught of crazy press conferences and awful Executive Orders. And, while a part of me was genuinely concerned that a second term may mean recession or much worse, a part of me couldn’t completely believe the alarmist hype. I mean, The Handmaid’s Tale? 1984? It might be bad, but not that bad, right? Even when I would say, “I hope we still have elections in 4 years” a part of me was thinking, “Of course we’ll still have elections.”

I never thought this term would be so chaotic and so confusing. I’m not even a journalist as my job and I’m struggling with what to write about weekly. I couldn’t imagine if that was my job daily! There is so much to weed through: the things he says, the weird Executive Orders, the disturbing bills floating around Congress, the Resolutions, the firings, Musk…in general, tariffs on, tariffs off, attacks on education, the war in Gaza…and this list isn’t even exhaustive.

I’m trying my best to weed out the “show.” Trump selling Teslas on the White House lawn, next. Trump calling Senator Warren “Pocahontas” again, next. Instead, I’m trying to focus on what’s happening, but even THAT is getting harder and harder. I’ve never had to do so much googling to understand the government, a resolution, who funds the Insitute of Peace… and this is all before I can even begin to understand what the new threat is.

I keep hearing, “They’re doing this on purpose. They want you to be confused,” but I have a hard time believing it’s all purposeful and more that it’s mostly the symptom of an administration in complete disarray. No one is working together, everyone is after their own agenda, no one is qualified to be in the position they are in, and everyone is working from impulse or retaliation. Sure, some of the things that are signed late on a Friday night or dumped on a Saturday afternoon are strategic, but some of the whiplash of attacks from all different directions might just be because a dozen people are actually running the country right now and they are each doing whatever they damn well please.

Not too long ago, my husband said he felt like we were all waiting for that one big thing that would finally break the dam. We’re all watching, eyeing the damage, worrying, getting angry and at some point, something will be the final tipping point. The point when we leave work, march in the streets, and finally begin the real fight to save our democracy.

But awhile ago, I read this post from Salt Box that really stuck with me. I don’t think there will be one big thing. I think it’s going to be a lot of little things. Things you can get mad about, but kind of explain away. Things that you don’t like, but not quite big enough for “take to the streets” action. And then, one day 6 months from now, we will wake up and America will be unrecognizable.

Yet we keep finding little bits to help us explain these atrocities away…

The firings are atrocious, but part of us says, “Well, it’s just some and it’s just certain positions.”

Defying a judge’s order to deport prisoners to El Salvador is egregious, but they are criminals.

Arresting a student protestor is heinous, but he was only a green card holder.

Threatening schools and colleges with funding cuts is appalling, but it hasn’t happened yet.

DOGE having access to our personal data is terrifying, but it doesn’t seem like it’s changed anything yet.

Many believe Trump is testing the waters with these moves. If no one fights the deportation of a green card holder, then maybe we could get away with deporting an American citizen, if we tell the right story. Others suggest he’s just ramping up. Starting with the low-hanging fruit.

Either way, I think some people are playing this game of “it’s only ___, so it’s__” as a way to self-preserve. And I get that. We cannot sustain if every day’s new threat feels personal, but I think we also need to be honest with ourselves: Every day’s new threat IS personal.

I’m starting to worry we won’t be able to sustain the fight. People will get tired. People will begin to feel hopeless. I’m worried about the last part of that Salt Box post:

The Most Dangerous Shift of All: Normalization

Here’s the worst part: you’ll get used to it.

You’ll wake up, see another scandal, another abuse of power, another journalist silenced, another department gutted—and you won’t even be surprised.

You’ll stop gasping.

You’ll stop reacting.

You’ll tell yourself “Well, it could be worse.”

You’ll find yourself nostalgic for things that were, objectively, already terrible.

And in that moment, the battle is lost.

Because the greatest trick authoritarianism ever pulled was convincing people to accept it in increments.

Here’s your weekly reminder to keep gasping. Keep doing what you can, even if what you are doing feels small because a lot of small actions add up to one big movement!