When I woke up this morning to the news that RFK Jr. was to be given the position as the head of health and human services, I exclaimed, in disbelief.
"Seriously??"
"Did you really expect him to nominate anyone good to his cabinet? He thrives on chaos," said my husband. He added, as a physician, he is personally offended to have a man who disbelieves in science to be at the helm of this agency
"Not really, but I DID expect some level of thoughfulness. At least an iota."
This week has brought such insanity to the selection of people to head up important, federal agencies. It is probably the most unqualified group of individuals to be in a presidential cabinet in history, with the likes of Matt Gaetz as the head of the Justice Department; Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Host, as the Defense Secretary; Tulsi Gabbard, famed Putin-lover for Director of National Intelligence; and the likes of Elon Musk; Vivek Ramaswamy; the list of Trump-cronies who will be loyal to him is astounding. What is terrifying is their lack of skill and their inability to do their jobs effectively puts our country at great risk.
"Maybe they won't be confirmed," I sighed.
"Ha," my husband laughed. "Teflon Don gets everything he wants. They are kow-towing to him for fear of excommunication. He said on the campaign trail he would punish his enemies, so they will confirm during recesses and avoid consent and approval by the senate. He is now the king. He makes the law."
"But it does not make sense. This will destroy the government."
"Exactly. "Dismantle and destroy the administrative state as he outlined repeatedly during his campaign."
"For what purpose?"
" To demonstrate he is the ONE in power, and all government is all but irrelevant --aside from him."
"So many people will suffer."
"And maybe," he said, "this will give pause when they think of the man they voted in."
DISMANTLE AND DESTROY. He is right. But how do I and others like me make it through the next few years as I watch a government caricature of a real government? How do I keep my faith? How do I support my good friends and loved ones who feel as I do, somewhat hopeless? And who are the people who understood what he was and voted for him anyway? I am so disappointed in this electorate, this country.
My husband says we will fight when we are able to, and find joy where and when we can, in those small moments of grace. I have already zoomed in on my friends and family, like-minded people, already befuddled and searching how to make sense of this election. I don't want him taking up the same space he did since 2016, when each crime he committed seemed like he would surely be nailed, and the coffin would be shut. Now, I know he can walk away freely from anything and for whatever insane reason, people vote for him and love his blatant disregard of norms. The nastier he is, the more they cheer. For Vance, too, who during his campaign week dared to call Kamala "garbage."
To exorcise Donald Trump from my head space, I will focus on my children, my grandchildren, my friends. But I will also do the things I love, which give meaning to my life. Just this morning I taught poetry to a class of three- and four-year-olds in my cousin Jackie's class. I had two City College poetry mentors shadow me, Miguel and Mateo (Frida), both of whom energized the room. I asked Miguel to pretend to be a dog, while I read dog poems. The children were so excited to write a group poem. It filled me with joy. It also reminded me, I can try harder to find the positive anchors in my life, which give me happiness and meaning--and I will.
JOY I will create, and when the time is ripe, for the sake of our future generations of lovely, smiling children, I will FIGHT to bring back the kind of world these childen and all our children and grandchildren deserve.
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