Dear friends,

I’ve wanted to begin this newsletter for a while now and the words or stamina or both have eluded me. I just don’t know what I have to say that hasn’t already been said. In so many ways, I am speechless.

But you wouldn’t know that from looking at me. I still get up and go to work almost every day. I greet my colleagues and negotiate with my students as expected. I stay on script and acquit myself favorably nine times out of ten. I’m leading a charmed life as an immigrant in a wealthy European republic with permanent EU residency. Yes, and people across the earth are mired in conflicts that tear at the fabric of any remaining sense of world order. Within and between nation states we are witnessing a host of threats to whatever patches of peace exist on both local and global scales. I feel this and possibly/probably you do, too.

As a result, I have felt stuck and contained, dimmed and down. At the same time, there’s a level of rage that burns within. There’s no way to take in the mass of news from the US to Iran to Palestine to Ukraine and not be affected in some way. Add to that the ongoing drip of criminal abuse and corruption evidence among a cabal of wealthy and powerful (mainly) men laid bare through the Epstein files and we could author another lengthy lament. Let’s save environmental destruction and natural disasters for another time, OK?

I mean, how do we and our students, colleagues, friends, families make sense of this bitter time?

You know I don’t have answers. What I do have are the thoughtful reflections of others and news from sources we might not normally consult.

Tressie McMillan Cottom remains a beacon of wisdom and intellect in these turbulent times. I found this PBS interview excerpt especially helpful. In it, she talks about the overwhelm and exhaustion we often feel from so much passive consumption of awful news and how we can counter it. (emphasis mine)

“The antidote, I think, to political exhaustion, the type that we are talking about is that we are getting so much passive information and we have so few opportunities to act. We are tired then not from doing too much, but from doing too little.

People who feel agentic aren’t as tired. They are not as easily overwhelmed…“

The more we get outside of our own heads and stand in community with others through service or protest or sharing space, the less isolated we are likely to feel. This thought has helped me decide to invite folks to join me for walks after school. I chose this as an alternative to more screen mediated events. My need to ‘touch grass’ when feeling out-of-sorts is stronger than ever.

Also consider this account, “Beyond Black and White,” from the protests in Iran which were met with terrible force from the Islamic regime. Thousands were killed by government forces. N. Nataqnuri describes with considerable care and nuance the layers of hardship that contributed to the protests, the violence that ensued, and the regime’s brutal response. It’s helpful to learn which parts of these stories Western media tend to omit or report without context. The author notes the deep uncertainty of the future while acknowledging the beauty of relationships that enable folks to persevere.

“It’s hard to be hopeful about anything, but the real beauty of Iranian society when things go bad is the way people come together…

We don’t know what is going to happen. But I learned from being there with friends and family (and the kind woman who comforted me as I broke down on the flight out of Iran) that we just have to continue to try to live as best we can.”

I want to also draw your attention to a dispatch from a fellow educator, Annie Perkins, who lives in Minneapolis. Her blog post from January 11th captures the reality of everyday folks confronting federal agents from ICE (immigration and customs enforcement) and CBP (customs and border patrol) in attempting protect their neighbors. This post was written after Renee Good was killed but before Alex Pretti was shot 10 times by federal agents. Listen:

“Right now, we are cautioning each other to travel in groups. To make sure someone knows where you are at all times. In honesty, I have spent much of the last week afraid, just like most of the other residents of the city. But that fear exists alongside a deep well of pride and conviction.”

There are so many people ready and able to tell the truth, to recount what they have seen with their own eyes, heard with their own ears, felt deeply in their own hearts. This is a frightening time and it has been frightening for many for a much longer period. Yes, and our shared future still depends on overcoming our fears to do what we can where and how we are able.

I’m going to pause here. No more overload.

I hope you are doing as well as you can under the circumstances. Seek joy and community and evidence of care. Ideally, we won’t have to look hard or far, only consciously. Please know that I’m thinking of you, of all of us, coming to terms with the world as it is.

This missive is both incomplete and as much or more than we can process at one time. I suppose this is the ongoing paradox of our digital age.

If you’re inclined to help fuel the resistance in Minnesota, this website has a directory of verified causes.

Also, a special word of thanks to my dear friend, Sabina, who encouraged me to write despite feeling unfit for the task.

Be well and be brave (in your own way),

Sherri