Resolve (a.k.a. shithole)

/ Jeff Cann

There was a time not so long ago when
appalled by something Donald Trump
said I’d attack my laptop spewing
venom at the internet and cleanse
myself and the rest of the world
with the flames of my desire to negate
his foul commentary with decency
and righteousness.

After staking out moral high-ground
I held my head high smug in my
conviction that I once again and
without encouragement did my part
to steer our misguided society
slightly straighter and safely
away from rocky waters.

But with each horrifying proclamation
my resolve chips and crumbles a little
from the edges and I stand less tall
questioning my faith that I or
anyone else can make a difference
or that anybody cares.

23 thoughts on “Resolve (a.k.a. shithole)”

  1. Hell, I care. So does a significant part of America and the world. How and when we will be rid of him is yet to be seen, but there is the beginning of a chance next November.

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    • The day after the election some of my wind was knocked out by the realization that half of the voters chose Trump. Today, I’m even more disgusted that everyone isn’t calling for his resignation or ouster. The man lacks basic decency, yet he represents our nation around the world. I can only imagine what others really think of us.

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    • In my town, after the election, a contest was started to pick the date when Trump would no longer be president. Most of the guesses were less than a year. I guessed he would finish his term. Now I can’t believe this nonsense can continue for another three years, but I also can’t believe it’s gone on for a year.

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  3. Trump has created most of his own crisis. He got away with so much before becoming President he just doesn’t have any self discipline. Unfortunately, the GOP seems quite willing to be his enabler as long as he signs what they put in front of him.

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    • I don’t see a crisis for Trump. He can, apparently, do anything he wants without consequence. If any other politician called African nations “shitholes” they would be drawn and quartered and forced to resign so quickly your head would spin, For Trump, it’s just another day and more fodder to question his stability, which seems more like a joke than a real concern.

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  4. Totally with you. At the beginning I would tweet clever replies directly to the prez. I was calling my congressmen every damn day. I was signing up for the ACLU and giving money to ActBlue, etc. I got my hopes up with every breaking story about Robert Mueller. But then not too long ago one of my “friends” on Facebook posted a little meme about how the DOW was up over 25K breaking a record for the xx amount of time since Donald Trump became president. And I started reading Fox News followers’ Twitter comments. And I realized, it’s pointless. He really could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and not lose any followers. He can defend Nazis, he can call countries shitholes, he can lie day after day, he can be best buds with Putin, he can pay off porn stars, he can make fun of disabled people, he can taunt North Korea, and through it all he remains untouchable. I don’t understand it but our country is really that f——d up. And I’m exhausted . I give up.

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  6. I think the onslaught of ridiculousness and hate has actually has the opposite effect on me. Instead of chipping away at my resolve, it’s encouraged me to get more involved, to get out and do more than just talk or vote. I am disgusted every time I read the news and I know we can do better. I canvassed for the first time in my life yesterday, knocking on strangers doors for a candidate that I believe in, something that is completely outside my introverted comfort zone, because something has to change. The only way a democracy works is for the people to get involved. Look at all the Republicans that have decided to not seek reelection for the mid-terms. So, keep writing Jeff. Keep denouncing.

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    • I can’t fathom door to door canvassing, although I am planning on joining a woman’s march next week. It all seems so hopeless to me. Remember when Obama was elected and everyone said we as a country had moved beyond racism?

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      • I never thought I would be someone that canvassed either, yet there I was. And I don’t believe the people saying such things were ever the ones personally experiencing such. If anything, the past year as served as a stark reminder that though advances are made, we can never become complacent.

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  7. I feel your hopelessness – what is the point of trying to change something at this point. Some drank the juice and put this guy in office. Outraged by his total lack of professionalism, or by the things he has tried to change, or by the things he has said – people have written their senators only to get a generic letter back “your voice has been heard (but nothing is going to change).” I don’t have anything else to say about this imbecile – I don’t have to. He will continue to shoot himself in the foot and most Americans will sit and watch in horror. I just want someone THAT CAN do something about him, to actually do it.

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  8. I can’t imagine what it must be like to feel so powerless when it comes to the president. It seems that every single day he makes the kind of misstep that, in isolation, would topple any other leadership. Instead he just gathers them up – a disaster snowball turning into a catastrophe avalanche. America is a great country, I love it, but it seems like its size is really working against it in this instance. People seem to think nothing they do can change things, and I think that is a dangerous thing to believe about the people you have appointed to government. When people start to think their voice is unheard and their vote is pointless, that’s a Very Bad Thing. To those in the comments saying you’ve given up – please don’t! You CAN change things around! And for the sake of the rest of us, who really can do nothing but watch in appalled horror, you must.

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  9. In my county, where 2/3 of voter went for Trump, it’s easy to encounter this sort of “white lives matter” racism. People are emboldened and that’s what upsets me most. On the bright side, the women’s movement sweeping the western world also seems to be tied to the Trump win. It seems like for the unforeseeable future, the US is going to be in a culture war not seen in decades. I won’t give up. Even by writing “I give up” I’m actually taking a stand.My tiny little town has a women’s march next weekend in which my family is committed to participate. Baby steps.

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  10. I care. I cried on a busy tube taking me to work this morning because I carer. I’m reading a book that highlights all the damaging stuff that Trump is doing to people, the environment, our world. I care but I don’t know how to make a difference (still reading the book and hoping to stumble upon some solutions). Keep caring Jeff. The world needs us.

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      • I totally understand the ‘Top frustrated to care’ phase although I feel frustration does link heavily to caring (in a different way). I can’t imagine what it’s like living in your country at the moment but I’m keen to understand. What ‘past’ do you long for?

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        • In the nineties, when Clinton was president, it really seemed like we were going to solve many of the problems that we as a country faced. I was young(ish) and hopeful. I’m no longer hopeful at all. Everyday I wake up and turn on my computer expecting a catastrophe. I think I’m missing the hope.

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