Deep Breathing

I'm going to get very good at yoga over the next four years. I'm going to power my way through physical therapy so that I can run again.

Deep breathing. Calm, relaxing mantras. Miles of quiet footfalls. Whatever it takes to reduce the stress that our newly elected leader is generating on what feels like an hourly basis.

What the hell is going on? What have we, as a nation, done? And what are we, as a nation, going to do to stop this madness?

We currently have a leader who does not do anything without a camera present. Every action, big and small, is touted as the best thing that's ever been done. Which to me, seems to diminish the impact of actual great things that might be done. And it causes me to ponder, Is the President able to distinguish the magnitudes of the various actions he is taking, or in his mind are they all the biggest and best? Is he paying attention to not just what he's signing but also to what the ramifications will be? Or are they all just photo opps?

After the election, the left was criticized for "taking Trump literally but not seriously," and the people who voted for him opined that they take him "seriously but not literally."

It turns out, as evidenced by the first five days in office, that everyone should have taken him both literally and seriously. He IS going to stop Muslim refugees from coming into the country and he IS going to actually build a wall on the US/Mexican border. He says he IS going to break NAFTA. He IS repealing healthcare without having an alternative plan in place. He has scrubbed the White House website of all references to climate change and has ordered the EPA to remove all references to climate change from its website. Let me repeat that. He has ordered the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY to remove links to research and findings regarding climate change. He is reinstating CIA black sites, which is a first step toward reinstating torture. He has muzzled the NIH, the Department of the Interior, and the EPA, prohibiting them from communicating with the press without first clearing it with the White House.

This is just the first five days.

And all this while he is still doubling down, publicly and contentiously and without any evidence that he is willing to provide to the press or public, on his belief that he lost the popular vote due to outlandish and widespread illegal voter fraud.

He's overly concerned with photos showing his inaugural turnout was not as good as Obama's first inauguration. Seriously overly concerned. It's taking up his time and thought process.

Breathe. Breathe again.

And in between breathing we all need to get up and do something to counteract this madness. Not just once. Again and again and again.

And again.

As if our nation depends on it, and depends on us.

Because it does.