The only way to stay sane these days is to avoid the news as much as possible. Seeing the dark forces being in power is a scary thing, but the last thing I will do is to let fear and frustration overwhelm or paralyze me.
"Be angry" I told my daughter when she was sad because of what someone had said or done in school. Many girls learn that being angry is a bad thing. I always told her that it is not. If someone steps on you, your values, your beliefs and your rights, or those of your sisters and brothers, being angry is not bad. It is necessary.
I have to admit that seeing a bunch of self-righteous, middle-aged white men signing a document aimed to decide what women can and cannot do with their bodies, has made me angry beyond belief. And even worse; it made me realize that I am living in a country heading towards fundamentalism. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/donald-trump-abortion-rights-executive-order_uk_58863bbfe4b0208540990e96?
Scary as hell, but I refuse to let it fill me with fear. I don't intend to feed the trolls what they crave the most.
In the Norwegian folktales we learned about the trolls; those evil, dark creatures, that lived in darkness and fed on other's fear. One way to get rid of the trolls was to outsmart them. That was not very difficult because the trolls were incredibly stupid. Another way was to shine light on them. Trolls can only live in darkness, in company with other dark forces. Their biggest fear was to be exposed to the light, as that would not only take away their power but also literally kill them.
As the trolls are taking over Washington, something that feels as surreal as it actually is, I see something happening in the country I now call home.
I see a nation waking up, like after a terrible hangover, realizing what is about to happen, deciding it is not ok and refusing to not shine light on it.
It is in times of pain and crisis that the true spirits of people often are awoken, and I believe we are about to see a major awakening in the United States of America.
It will take time.
It will be painful.
It is highly necessary.
And I'm excited to be here when it happens.
You should be angry. You must not be bitter.
Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host.
It doesn't do anything to the object.
So use that anger. You write it. You paint it.
You dance it. You march it. You vote it.
You do everything about it.
You talk it.
Never stop talking it.
(Maya Angelou)