I am exhausted.
I’m tired of loud voices shouting crude remarks. I’m weary of illogical and unscientific fools receiving all the attention. I’m appalled by the crude and vulgar behavior of too many elected officials and members of the media. I’m nearly beaten by the wealthy thieves who never pay their due, and the lies we hear repeatedly about stolen elections. I do not understand the pervasive willingness to be stupid about voting integrity, climate change, or vaccine safety and necessity. I’m done with cynicism and sarcasm.
I am disturbed by how many states, including my own, have enacted voting suppression laws, or hope to do so soon. Corruption and greed seem to know no bounds in our country; bold con men and women now lie and cheat and steal in broad daylight and without shame. I wish I could wake up in a world without all the snarky, wisdom-deficient puppets in Congress. They are hollow beings, black holes that have completely doused the lights they came to share.
I don’t want to hear from anyone pushing us into one side or the other; these blatant attempts to manipulate us are beneath our shared humanity. I think there are millions of us who yet retain the ability to reason and consider different coherent opinions and options delivered with calm intelligence. I want problem-solvers solving problems. I want adults committed to service.
Where has decency fled, and why did it take reason, wisdom, and kindness with it? What is this current need to behave without thought, clarity, manners, or recognition of interdependence and reciprocity? When did truth and facts become objects of ridicule?
The madness seems to be building, and my feelings of frustration and impotence to affect its course is crushing at times. We, the quiet, thinking people, are not being heard. Yes, I vote; yes, I write and record messages for my representatives; yes, I protest and donate, where and what I can; but none of it makes a difference. I am exhausted by this country and its downward spiral. I’m the Peter Finch character in Network, and I can’t take it anymore. I can’t tolerate one more loudmouth spewing lies and hate. I can’t stomach the image of some unqualified simpleton brazenly pawing over my private, sacred, voting ballot with no fear of consequence. I am utterly confused by the rise of incompetence and cruelty, and the lack of accountability.
I pray for maturity and common sense to come out of hiding. I pray for the remaining wise women and men in Washington to turn this tide of darkness back. I pray for more and more of us to speak up, rationally. I pray for the loud and vulgar to heal, and I pray for those suffering from the inaction needed to restore peace, justice, and integrity to our communities and country…I pray for all of us.
May we choose to be good, kind, thoughtful, and creative. Forgiveness needs practice; so does personal responsibility. May gentle peace sweep through the noise and hush it into mindfulness before it’s too late. And it nearly is.
I’m exhausted, but I’m still hopeful that sanity and our better angels will restore balance. I read this week about a wise man whose vowed response to the struggles of his own time was to reaffirm his commitment to goodness. He would remain constant in his striving to be a good person, no matter what the sway of culture and country elicited from others. That is as direct and immediate a source of wisdom as anything I’ve come across. Stay the course; remain the good people we have been created to be. We’re near the tipping point. Let’s choose to pledge allegiance to goodness, and so tip the scale in favor of those behaviors and qualities we’ve always known to be our true treasures as humans, grounded in Love.
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THE DAILY ROUND 
I feel your frustration every day. Well written.
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Thank you. There are many of us, and maybe we need to commiserate (share our misery) at times, to feel refortified. It’s kind of you to visit and comment, and accept my sadness. I’m grateful for your company. I hope your frustration will fuel your creativity, too. Gentle peace to you.
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Yes, I am with you. And exhausted. I need to ignore news for a few days, and then I am better. I know bad stuff is always in the background though, and so I continue to do what I can to add love and light and healing energy every day. Take care! Margaret
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Margaret, you echo a lot of my own patterns…taking breaks from the barrage of bad news; and continuing to try and focus not just on the good, but on using the gifts I have to create more of it…we’re kindred spirits, Margaret, and I thank you for shining your light my way today. You take care, too…I hope our exhaustion can be our fuel for inspiring creativity. Gentle Peace.
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Let’s write a new pledge we can all say daily – or at hourly! as an antidote to political events. Here’s a try
I pledge allegiance to the Good of the United States of America
And to the spirit for which it stands
One nation: diverse, yet indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.
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I stand with you
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Thank you; that is lovely to read. It feels wonderful to know we’re standing together and connected by our energy and spirits. Great and gentle peace to you! xxxxx Kitty
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That is beautiful, WS; thank you! Yes! Simple and exactly what my heart believes. Now, that’s the way to use frustration for creation. I love it. Copying for my morning readings. 🙂 Thank you again, and gentle peace to you. xxx Kitty
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Oh I very much like this! Do I have your permission to share this pledge?
Judy
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Hi, Judy,
I think if you cite the blog address and credit WS, that would be fine! Thank you for asking. Gentle peace to you.
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I am exhausted – and yet, I still believe
.. in the dream.
.. in still we rise
Xxxxxxxc
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Thank you, dear Beate! I think it’s healthy to admit our exhaustion and name its source(s), if only to share our feelings and revive our hope. I so appreciate your spirited response and continued faith in our mutual dream for a kinder world. Be well, and gentle peace.
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THANK YOU! I agree completely. Every single one of us is a world changer, just by simple acts of decency and kindness and respect. Love, Nancy
Sent from my iPhone
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Thank you, Nancy! Yes, exactly; we’ve no idea how the world is changed by simple acts of kindness, heartfelt apologies, invitations to friendship, a smile…but I know these things increase the light. 🙂
Love to you as well, and gentle peace, Nancy.
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I THINK THAT MANY OF US FULLY AGREE WITH YOU ~ THANKS~!
I just talked to my son who more or less was saying the same as you have posted here. One reason I blog is that I can pick “like minded persons” to chat with. I realize that we all, at times, must let our politics safety valve blow off; but as a general rule we try to be kind, thoughtful, honest people who are just too quiet about our disgust with the other type and it turns out to be the squeaking door that gets oiled~! Unfortunately this noise applies to the scum that come out of the woodwork, though I like to think that the good out number the bad by a long way. For the most part the Liberal mind-thought works on a live and let live attitude, mostly this applies to our total outlook on life… Maybe it would pay to call a spade, a spade at times…(I do in my blog) and really count my friends among those I communicate with in like manner, actually keeping my number of “friends” rather low.
One thing that bothers me is so called “God loving people” who do not practice their philosophy or liberal ways and the churches that even support the evil ways of the Trump crowd. I feel that many are just listening to the wrong advice and the political footballs which always have two sides, both having good and bad. A good example is the word “abortion”, I hate abortion, what intelligent person would not find that sometime necessary procedure repugnant, BUT I know of cases where that operation ended up, in times past, in a dark alley and with a coat hanger, destroying lives, so a more sensible discussion should be held on it, rather that using it as a way to win votes. Single word attitudes and three word slogans can really cause problems. Yes “Black Lives do Matter, but the people who actually hear this, already know it, and the people who it should hear it, only use it to get angry at he people saying it~! Another good one, right now, is “bipartisanship” Biden tries to promote this, but McConnell has made it clear that he will fight it all the way..(STUPID MAN~!) Then we also have Fifth Columnist like Manson who will keep things up in the air while trying to be a self made king maker…How can this be~?
So I am sorry that your pressure valve has cut loose, but appreciate your unloading some of the backup just as we all must do at times, but maybe not loud enough YET~?…
Oh Thanks for your post,,,, see, you even allowed me to blow off steam too.. I always like the scenes you post of a quiet trail leading toward peacefulness, below is a poem I have written of such a place where I go to just sit quietly with my dog to cool off mentally and physically listening to the birds, a peaceful waterfall or soft music…
I guess some may call me conceited, but I often find peacefulness in just reading my own poetry of past mind clearings…In a way I guess ( I ) must be one of my favorite poets……
This is my peaceful place I am reminded of from your blog:
https://mcouvillion.wpcomstaging.com/2020/01/12/a-peaceful-place/
and this a poem of relaxation when I want to clear my mind.
https://mcouvillion.wpcomstaging.com/2020/01/14/good-morning/
And here are a few rants that you may read when you want a common thought.
https://wordpress.com/post/mcouvillion.wpcomstaging.com/5328
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Thank you for your thoughtful response, Sam. I enjoyed visiting your blog and seeing your beautiful photos, too! I appreciate your kindness and honesty. There is, as you say, a reduction of profound issues to slogans and sound bites, which does disservice to the issues and–more importantly–those they affect. Our culture has been diminished intellectually, it seems, to tweets and TikTok videos. I think we can do better. I think we must.
I so appreciate the time you’ve taken to share, Sam. I’m grateful your beautiful blog is available for the spiritual food it offers, too! Be well, and gentle peace. 🙂
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Wow thanks, some time we feel that our rants are just falling on deaf ears. I am sitting here right now watching the Assault on our Democracy. Some of the things those people believe and repeat. We are not finished with Trump yet~!
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My dear Kitty, I am not sure exactly what the last straw was for you before you wrote this piece, but it surely ignited something that has been simmering. And I understand. Maybe what you write is why I don’t watch the news. Or do so as little as possible. Or read selectively. I have been told more than once by those more wise and psychic than I that everything I need to know will always come to me. For now, maybe take a good break from the news.
Meanwhile, I want to share an older post of mine with you. https://stilladreamer.com/2012/05/28/be-the-change/
The post itself says it all, but I have a little p.s. fresh from today. I met with my dearest friend for the first time in a year, and from my house we went up to Rt. 78 to a wonderful takeout place to bring home a meal to share chez moi. This route takes us under the train trestle mentioned in the post. and there we all were – taking turns at either end of the little one way tunnel. “After you …” “Go ahead,” we waved. “Your turn …”
Never give up hope. 🙂
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Well, as I said, these feelings of frustration build over time and I think they need sharing/venting and acknowledgement. I don’t watch the news every day, but I do check in several times a week. Completely avoiding the news doesn’t work for me, because I prefer to have a sense of what our elected public servants are doing for our welfare and with our tax dollars, but I do loathe the way the media repeat and repeat and speculate and over-dramatize and take sides. That Fox News is even granted a license seems criminal to me.
No one and no entity can take my hope away, but I think it’s OK to say, “Enough” some days as well. And to let those in power know we’re watching them. Closely.
I am so happy you had such a lovely day with your friend and affirming reassurance of people’s goodness. 🙂
Thank you, as always, for your wisdom, Jeanne. xxxxx Kitty
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Standing with you in pledging allegiance to Goodness and Truth – especially during these dark times…
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Thank you, dear antsimon! That means more than you know! I am so grateful for your presence on this beautiful planet, especially–as you say–during these dark times. Bless you, and gentle peace. xxxxx Kitty
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Hi Kitty, Perhaps I should correct myself. I am hardly as oblivious as I may have sounded. I get the NYTimes in my Inbox daily, and read selectively, and subscribe to a county newspaper, and read selectively. But I do not watch it on TV unless it’s a reliably-sourced, special in-depth program because the news is so biased and only provides glimpses and snippets of the truth/stories. Fox is an utter travesty and I will never watch them. I also am constantly reading news in my field which is animals, the environment, our food supply … and the politics that is often involved, and writing about it as well. So much of my work, in all areas, relies on my creativity (which requires energy other than the anger which the news inspires) … so I do what I can.
And know I am grateful for people like yourself who spread the word and get angry and take action.We need you. Happy Sunday! XOXO Jeanne
p.s. I am always pledging allegiance to goodness and truth. Always have. 🙂
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Sounds like we have very similar news intake; I favor science, ecology, and nature-related topics as well. A lot of our time is just spent reading books, too, for pleasure! 💕 Most of my waking hours are divided between writing and gardening.
I agree that most televised news is destructive to my spiritual equilibrium, and the fact it’s structured that way to increase profit is maddening . When I check-in, it’s the PBS NewsHour, which I still call McNeil-Lehrer. 😉
Thanks for sharing, Jeanne! Peace and creative joy to your week! ♥️
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A voice of reason. You’ve said all that many of us are thinking or sharing. As you brilliantly said we need to keep believing beyond the current events. Our thoughts and goals are birthing themselves and they need to remain hopeful no matter how frustrated we feel. Thank you. We stand together is seeing a better world. Blessings to you.
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Thank you, Karin; yes, standing together with other good souls, the world over, and—always—remaining hopeful that Love will prevail. Blessings to you, and gentle peace.
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Amen. You say what is in my heart, my soul and my psyche so well.
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Thank you for this, Kerry. It’s always fortifying to look and see lovely companions beside us on these hard roads in challenging times. It goes a long way towards strengthening our hope.
Bless you and gentle peace!
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Please send this to the major news publications or post it on social media. It needs to be read by the all! Beautifully expressed and, sadly, my shared thoughts.
Thank you!
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Good to hear from kindred spirits, Sandra; I think there are many of us feeling this way. I’m not on social media much, but I’m glad you visited here and felt welcomed and, possibly, somewhat comforted by our shared response to current events. Sometimes, just having our feelings affirmed helps us get up and travel the next distance on this challenging path. We’re not alone and there is always reason to hope.
Gentle Peace to you.
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Oh, I feel your pain! I feel exactly the same as you, enough is enough!!! I am sick to the back teeth of it all too. Still as you say we can pledge to goodness and decency. Brilliantly written. The photos are so very beautiful, they gave me goose bumps. Huge love and hugs to you all.xxxx
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I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos! And I love your expression, “…sick to the back teeth of it.” Very vivid and clear. 😉 Thank you, as always, for your kindness in being such a supportive spirit! 💕 Peace and more peace to your week.
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