Last week after four classes in a row, I needed a mental break before studying, so I turned to Twitter.
Instead of relaxing news, however, I saw that the Trump administration had begun reviewing some of the proposed EPA regulations from last few months of the Obama administration. Since Trump and his nominee for the head of the EPA, Scott Pruitt, have expressed doubt about the existence of climate change — author’s note: it does, in fact, exist — this wasn’t exactly the best of news.
My stomach soon began to hurt. Last night I saw a Tumblr post that perfectly described my dilemma. It said, “Searching for that fine line between ‘I need to stay informed’ and ‘I can’t take any more of this.’”
I think it’s fair to say I’ve taken steps to keep myself informed. I follow news accounts on Twitter and receive daily news briefings in my email. I like the feeling of knowing what’s going on in the world, but recently knowing what’s going on in the world has begun to take a toll on me.
I’m often hesitant to open my Twitter feed because I’m scared to see what’s on there.
There’s news that the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline projects are being revisited by the new administration.
There is news that Trump has signed an executive order on Holocaust Remembrance Day to halt all refugees from entering the country for 120 days — a bitter irony given that the United States denied entry to Jews during WWII.
There is news that Trump will soon be picking a Supreme Court nominee, one that will likely be amenable to the idea of overturning Roe v. Wade.
As disheartening as these recent events are, we need to keep up with them so we can hold Trump accountable for his actions. Continue to bear witness. Continue to remain vigilant. Continue to protest when faced with policies that are antithetical to the ancient and fundamental principles of our nation.
Every time I encounter a news update that I’d really rather not see, I’m tempted to unsubscribe from all the news accounts I follow, but I can’t do that. It’s my job — and yours, too — to do my duty as a citizen of this democracy by paying attention to it, contributing to it and making my voice heard.
acgroove@umail.iu.edu
