Inauguration

"Inauguration (def.): the beginning of a system, policy, or period."

This time feels different. I am not tempted to leave my job, and rush to my dearest national advocacy organization, meaningful though that choice was... I am not as shocked and stunned, sadly, as the first time around. And I am not feeling pulled to march in the streets, at least not at the moment. And apparently, I'm not alone - the numbers of people protesting and planning to protest through mass marches is down. 

The lack of protest does not mean we do not protest. It means we are reserving our energy because standing in the street with others does not feel like the best use of effort. At least it does for me.

I was looking for a touchstone this morning, to stay focused on what matters and seek guiding wisdom as much as the latest drama and political updates. I'm not on social media* at the moment, so I'm not getting my usual sources philosophical and social commentary. So I turned to my bookshelf. For my 17th birthday, my dad gave me the book, Letters of a Nation, edited by Andrew Carroll. His inscription was helpful (as they usually were). 

Keep writing. Keep reading. Get inspired and enlightened. 

That is a welcome suggestion. I newly see myself as a middle-aged person, and I'm interested in the positionality of that. In relation to younger people, I guess. Instead of just defining myself, which felt like the work of the 20s and 30s, now I'm armed with a breadth and depth of knowledge, experience, perspective, values... which may be of interest or use to others. And as a writer, that is appealing. 

I read the foreword and introduction to the book (also good), before rushing to the section on "Letters of a New Nation." The letter that grabbed my eye was from Benjamin Rush to John Adams, recounting (among other things) how the signers of the Declaration of Independence believed it to be a suicide mission, basically. (!!) They did not in any way expect to win the war against Britain, and figured that there was a good chance the British would specifically kill all the signers for their treasonous act. Dr. Rush was looking back 25 years later, after a 4th of July celebration, from the vantage point when the happy ending of 1776 was very clear to a time when it most certainly was not. 

Did you hear about that in history class? That the declaration of independence was the thing that started it - the risky act? That it was viewed by some as perhaps a futile measure?

My family, blood and chosen, are people of words. I know that words matter. I don't know exactly how mine might, but maybe I don't need to. I just know writing down what we believe is a good thing to do, and potentially a risky thing. But maybe that's kind of the point. 

*I logged off Facebook and Instagram on Saturday, for the foreseeable future. I moved myself onto Bluesky and Retro (and LinkedIn and Pinterest, lol).