02/07/2025: Just Another Day in this Twisted Dystopian Nightmare

The world isn’t any less crazy, and I’m feeling somewhat better in some ways and even more discouraged in others. A lot of the current issues in the world are happening right outside my door, and my heart goes out to anyone having to suffer the consequences of the decisions of the ignorant and the rich. 

I was going to the grocery store this morning and half the staff were striking outside. After stopping to talk to an employee, I learned that the corporation was holding fast to deny its workers fair pay and treatment, and I just can’t believe that people are still having to fight so hard just to be appreciated and to earn a living, to be treated equally and fairly. But unfortunately, it’s all about the company’s bottom line, and so those people I saw today either have to fight until the union runs out of money or they give up and decide to go back to work. 

I’ve never lived in a place that was so active in the community before, where people protest and stand up for their values, and I have to say that I’m glad to be here. It makes me better to consider my stances on issues and to challenge what I know about the world. I wish more people felt free to speak their minds without retribution like this. I wish we could live in a world where groceries were groceries, and not some political statement or a show of support for corporate greed. I wish people could be free to be who they are, and say what they really think without living a single moment in fear. But you know what they say about wishing. I guess I can still hope then. 

I’ve been trying to climb out of the doom scrolling social media and news hole I dug myself into when the year started, and I think my fingers finally have a steady enough grip on the edge. But despite this, I haven’t been able to pull myself all the way out. I’m afraid that when I finally do pull myself free that something will hit me with enough force to knock me back to the bottom, whether it’s another absurdly wild new executive order or another inevitable and crazy ten steps back on the subject of basic human rights. 

I’ve at least taken measures to improve my mental state by subscribing to a lot of new good news email lists, and I still try to find something good in every day. But I always feel like one day I might just wake up from this twisted dystopian nightmare.