We were in the car on the way back from a lovely bayside brunch when an alert popped up through CarPlay from Jen’s brother, prompting us to look at the news. I can’t say I’m surprised. My anxiety has been ramping up over the last couple of months from a distant rumble to an almost deafening roar; it seems like every new thing I read about is another giant roadblock for my team or portent of doom for my country. It’s to the point now that I’m pausing making any long-term plans past the fall because I don’t know what’s going to happen and I don’t know how bad things are going to get. I stand against facism, xenophobia, racism, and oligarchy. The fact that one half of the country is nakedly, enthusiastically embracing these values is confusing and heartbreaking. I feel like the bad guys have all the money, attention, and momentum and I can’t do anything to stop them.