PROMPT: HOW HAS YOUR LIFE CHANGED SINCE 2016?
Trump is Making My Hair Fall Out
Vote Biden for better hair
Lately I find my hair everywhere: on the couch, on my lap, on the kitchen counter. I know the strands are mine because they’re long and silver. But why are they falling out? It might be just because I’m getting old. But why are they falling out now? All at once? And all of a sudden? The dramatic onset and scope of my hair loss makes me think it’s something else. I blame President Trump.
Every day I read the news I get a little more stressed. And this has been going on for almost four years. My cortisol levels have got to be through the roof! I saw a new word yesterday that perfectly describes this activity: doomscrolling. I doom scroll for an hour or more in the morning and then do it again at night. No wonder my hair is falling out!
Prior to discovering the term “doomscrolling” I used a quote I saw on Twitter to describe this daily ritual. “What fresh horror will I find this morning on my fresh horror device?” someone tweeted, which I thought sure was a quote from Macbeth. Yet in trying to verify that just now, I found no reference to the phrase in the Scottish play. But the blood-stained thane does mention a “horrid image” in Act I that “doth unfix my hair.” That tracks.
So what are the freshest of all the fresh horrors in America?
- Destruction of the planet ranks pretty high. D. Trump can’t roll back our environmental protections fast enough.
- Destruction of the species is another top troubler, with covid cases through the roof while our dissembler in chief exits the World Health Organization, muzzles the Center for Disease Control, discredits top doctor Anthony Fauci and seeks to cut funding for testing and tracing while expressing ambivalence about wearing masks.
- But what’s pushing me over the edge is the loss of our democracy, flawed as it is, to Trump’s secret police.
Have you seen the stories? Trump has sent border patrol troops into Portland, a place that has no borders with other countries at all. He’s send Homeland Security to harass American citizens.These troops are dressed in camouflage uniforms without badges or insignia. They’re carrying big guns and driving unmarked vans. They’re shooting people in the head with non-lethal weapons and grabbing peaceful protestors off the street.
The mayor of Portland has asked them to leave. The governor of Oregon has asked them to leave. Senators and Congresspeople have called it a violation of the U.S. Constitution. But the troops won’t go!
Knowing that he’s losing in the polls, Trump is desperate to pretend these troops are needed. That he’s needed to restore law and order in the land. But people on the ground say his reckless and illegal actions are only making things worse.
I can’t even force myself to read the macho statement from the head of Homeland Security about how he won’t leave and he won’t apologize. It’s too much to stomach. It’s beyond the pale.
I remember when Trump threatened to send troops to California a few months ago. Governor Gavin Newsom told him they weren’t welcome. He said they would need an invitation to come, and he wasn’t issuing one. But now Trump has come up with a way to bust in where he isn’t wanted by claiming the troops are protecting federal property and monuments.
So I worry. I doom scroll. I obsess over fresh horrors.
The only relief from my constant worry yesterday came from the Wall of Moms who hit the streets to protect the protestors, chanting “leave our kids alone” to the federal troops. The troops teargassed them — used military grade weapons on a line of non-violent women — displaying exactly the brutal behavior that patriotic citizens are in the streets to protest.
I’m not a religious person, but I can’t resist praying: please God, rid our country of this horrible man. As far as this voter concerned, November can’t come fast enough. I only wish we could start the election today. I fear my teeth will start falling out next.
Turns out, I’m not the only one whose stress is expressed in thinning hair.
The Trump presidency affects different people different ways. What about you? We’d love to hear a personal story about how life has changed for you since 2016. Or maybe Trump hasn’t changed your world? Or maybe he’s made it better? Whatever your experience, we’d like to hear it.
There’s no pressure attached to this prompt, and no deadline. It’s just an invitation to share your point of view. If it moves you to write something, add the prompt above the title and submit the story to Fourth Wave at any time. Morgan Babbs| Evelyn Jean Pine | Susan Gold | Vicky Stein | Michelle Monet | Sophia Jaro | Jessica Yen | Rosemary (Summers) Loshin | Stephen Emmanuel Ogboh | Peter Pruyn | Mernine Ameris | Emily Rose Thorne | Ale García C. | Donna Jenson | Anna Holtzman | Yong Yee Chong | Alan Tabor
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