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In reply to the discussion: My Problem: Any Thoughts Appreciated [View all]jmbar2
(4,883 posts)I agree with the other posters that if you haven't done so already, talk to your Dr. about your depression. Meds might help a lot.
When I am feeling discouraged, I like to think of the civil rights pioneers who laid it on the line every day, for years, defeat after defeat, to make democracy a reality for all Americans. I'd do some reading about how they viewed the long struggle, and how they kept going.
I keep a pic of a bloodied John Lewis, early in his career as a civil rights warrior to remind me that the fight has been much dirtier in the past. They are models for how to keep moving forward in the face of seemingly unbeatable odds.
I'd also like to recommend that you spend time reading the Twitter/blog posts of Teri Kanefield. She is a lawyer, writer and historian who does excellent analysis of what's going on, links to a lot of great research on how to defeat fascism, and maintains a very useful set of recommendations for things you can do to avoid despair. She gets me through a lot of discouraging days.
https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield
Finally, I am reminded of a young man in Florida who killed himself in despair when George Bush was awarded the contested election against Al Gore. He missed out seeing Barack Obama become president just four years later! No one could have imagined it at the time.
Our democracy has survived through some very dark times. We have to constantly defend it and finetune it to live up to its promise.
Take a break, refresh, then focus on how you can help us get it back on track.
We need you on our team!