Do You Feel The Turning Tide?
“The tide is turning, can you feel it?”
I woke up to this text from my Mom, who I should note is in a time zone that is now three hours behind me, which means she was up at the crack of dawn. “Did I feel it,” I thought, half awake and padding down the hallway to the kitchen to feed a very cranky cat, who was voicing her opinion on my decision to try and sleep in. My cat sounds like a baby pterodactyl dinosaur when she is hungry and she only speaks when she is hungry. “Mother of dragons,” I said out loud. “I have to stop watching Game of Thrones before I fall asleep,” I said to the cat. But, she knew I didn’t mean it.
As I listened to the microwave heat up a two day old latte, I thought about the tide turning. I took a deep breath and made a point not to let the gale force winds from yesterday or my need for some kind of fresh start color my sense of things. I have felt more optimistic in the last few days. I did think the State of the Union went incredibly well. I do feel like I have a bit more energy and direction with my work. Then, I used the ultimate barometer for checking a shift: Twitter has seemed slightly more bearable.
These changes in enthusiasm and energy used to be much easier for me to detect, even when Donald Trump was president, even with the state of immobilizing perpetual panic he seemed to cause. The thing I can’t come to terms with still is how liberal advocates on Twitter had more optimism for things when Trump was in office, as compared to now, after Elon Musk has ruined the platform.
Several weeks ago, I wrote an article that depicted my ongoing malaise in an attempt to “name it and shame it” away. Although I still can’t pin-point what is causing my enthusiasm to be so sluggish, I have come to a pretty obvious conclusion: the fear of another Trump Presidency is so unthinkable that it can be easier to shut down than to wade through another election cycle with his nonsense.
I realized after publishing my admission of sorts that a lot of us are feeling the same way and that maybe we can help each other through the muddy political sludge to a clear grassy hill that we all recognize. I have decided that I will write more about what I am perceiving and feeling because it might be the catalyst for helping someone else to re-energize.
It is in this spirit that I can say to you that I do feel like the tide is turning slightly. While I’m not sure if I feel the waves receding or coming in for a higher tide, there has been a repositioning of perspective for me and for many other people, and the State of the Union Address was the perfect scene to watch this all play out. While too many pundits are focused on the superficial notion that President Biden brought a different level of fierce energy to the House Chamber last Thursday, I think this excerpt from that article best explains Biden’s presentation: “For anyone who calls President Biden too old, or too slow, I say this clip shows him in his true form — methodical, deliberate, earnest and disciplined.”
It’s also worth acknowledging that sometimes it is easier to ignite and perpetuate great levels of energy when we are campaigning for something that inspires us. For me, 2016 was filled with such hope and excitement at the idea of electing the first woman president, and 2020 was driven by the do-or-die need to save ourselves from Donald Trump. Sometimes the idea of doing all of this again in 2024 is more tiring than it is galvanizing.
We have to fight this political battle fatigue even harder than we have to fight the Trump Campaign right now. For me, this means going back to the basics to remind anyone I can that the behavior of Donald Trump is not normal. At times it feels like I am fighting the mainstream media more than anyone in this quest to secure America’s democracy for four more years, but I realize now that this is just part of our new, mutated task list for 2024. It may not be readily apparent, but the game has evolved and we have to shift with it to be effective.
During the State of the Union Address, Republicans appeared confused and unsure of where they are going next. Biden was able to win over a few of them that would consider him an old friend if Donald Trump was not looking. He was able to make some great points about bi-partisanship and the conservative drive to tear down America and all of her people, in the name of hating Joe Biden. Even Marjorie Taylor Greene was only able to get in one good shot, and when Biden responded to her with the perfect, calm, compassionate counter, she misfired that shot in her own deranged, flair-covered face.
Sometimes the thing you need to change your own trajectory is just to use all of your energy to shift direction. I remember the day of my last final in law school — to say I was exhausted would be a great injustice to the word. I was taking a bath just before my last test, and I could not summon the strength to move. I was not scared of the exam, I was just that tired. I had to say to myself, over and over, “stand up…stand up.” That took several minutes. Then I had to tell myself each step to take next, including: “Get dressed. Go out the door. Drive to school. Sit in your chair. Take the test.”
When we are this tired, we have no choice but to put ourselves on autopilot and “just keep swimming.” Get up. Put one foot in front of the other. Take care of that one errand you have been putting off for two months. File your taxes…and register three new people this week to vote for President Biden in 2024. Have the tides turned? I’m going to trust my mother and say they have shifted slightly, and that is all I need to get started.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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I think this paragraph really captures the whole thing: "It’s also worth acknowledging that sometimes it is easier to ignite and perpetuate great levels of energy when we are campaigning for something that inspires us. For me, 2016 was filled with such hope and excitement at the idea of electing the first woman president, and 2020 was driven by the do-or-die need to save ourselves from Donald Trump. Sometimes the idea of doing all of this again in 2024 is more tiring than it is galvanizing."
And there are so many crises: global warming, Israel and Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, the total failure of our public health system during Covid, and we're wasting time fighting off this useless, loud-mouthed, mean-spirited liar and cheater?
I live in Texas, and the Texas legislature just shifted further right.
It does feel like the tide is turning, but hopelessness feels just over the horizon.
I have been flying my flag upside down in distress for over a year.
I bought a new flag and hung it correctly last week, for the same reasons you talked about.
It's a glimmer of hope, but it's there, and it feels good.
This is OUR land.
We will take it back.
Thank you.