American politics has been a true whirlwind for many this past week.
Between a federal grant and loan freeze, confirmation hearings and a politicized tragedy, it feels almost hard to breathe.
For the first time since the election in November, I feel incredibly disillusioned. My brain has been clouded in anger for the better part of a week. I’m annoyed and apathetic to the current state of this country. I know I’m not alone on this either.
Monday, Jan. 27’s memo from the White House stating that the federal government “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance” confused many, even those in the government.
Not even two days later, the memo was rescinded. Or, at least, I think it was. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt then took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to add to the confusion.
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze,” Leavitt said. “It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EOs on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”
Oh, okay. I still have no idea what’s going on. A legal challenge seems to be blocking it for the time being. Perhaps my expectation of the government’s ability to communicate both concisely and with clarity was something doomed to fail from the beginning.
Then, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, a military helicopter collided with a passenger jet. In the tragedy’s aftermath, 67 people are dead. Families are mourning while searchers are still collecting the bodies of the fallen.
It’s awful. Things like this happen. We might never know what exactly happened that fateful night in D.C.
However, while the American people mourn the country’s worst airplane-related accident since 2009, our president took it upon himself to speculate that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, was a possible cause for a mass tragedy. Not to mention his doubling down on the idea when asked about his DEI speculation.
“Because I have common sense,” President Donald Trump said. “And unfortunately, a lot of people don’t.”
We’re living in the most absurd timeline. Playing the blame game after a tragedy isn’t a new idea. It’s not even a partisan issue. Politicians using a devastating situation for political gain is nothing new.
With this being the case, why am I so angry? Why is this week’s confusing and dumbfounding sequence of events getting to me? Why now?
The easy answer is that I care about politics to the point that it hurts. I know this. But I don’t think the week of political exhaustion is normal for me. It’s obvious our government is a complete and utter mess. I’ve complained about it under Joe Biden, and I’ll complain about it under Trump.
I don’t know why I’ve reached my breaking point. But I have. Snarky comments and pointing fingers around tragedy are tiresome. A certain opposing political party being so ridiculously useless is tiresome. The government is tiresome.
It’s counterproductive to point at those who helped land us in the situation and laugh. I have disdain for a lot of Americans. I’m sure Americans hold the same amount of disdain for my thought processes. We’re here in the present situation. I take no joy in the failures of the government.
My point with all this is that I’m confused. I’m disillusioned. America is feeling less like America. Again, I just don’t think I am the only one that feels this way. We shouldn’t have to feel this way. None of us. When does the feeling end? Will it?