Every morning of 2017 since 45 took the oath of office I wake up, note that I am still alive, and check the news for a damage report. I used to check the news a couple of times a week. Sure, a headline would pop up in my feed if something big happened, but generally, I had no reason to be concerned that we were in immediate danger, no reason to go looking for headlines every day.

This new animal, this dread, is something new to me. 50 years of being a poor woman, a single mother with a crappy job living barely paycheck to paycheck, hasn’t caused the kind of apprehension I feel all the time now. Sure, things happened, but I never felt like it was completely out of control. Even when homelessness was near, and that’s almost happened more than once, I never felt that I couldn’t protect my son or myself. That has changed.

Somehow, in the 21st century, countries of the world are inching back to isolationism and dictatorships, swinging their nukes around as if it matters who has the biggest. Business and religion are running the show. Hate is fashionable, and people who care about other people are seen as weak. We’ve forgotten that the economy and our security are global issues. We literally depend on each other; we have to care about other people for our very survival.

The damage reports pile up daily. How bad does it have to get before the pendulum swings back in the direction of unity, empathy, progress, and prosperity?

Link: “North Korea: Mike Pence says ‘strategic patience is over’ in White House’s latest hint at military action” – by Andrew Buncombe of Independent

Link: “Why is Trump celebrating Turkey’s democratic crisis?” – by Steve Benen at MSNBC

Link: “Ivanka’s biz prospers as politics mixes with business” – by Erika Kinetz and Anne D’Innocenzio of AP News

Link: “The Hate Report: During Passover, swastikas and anti-Semitism” – by Will Carless at Reveal News