What Now?
If you are anything like me, the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions. I have felt furious, miserable, scared, and found moments of joy when I unplug and disassociate. I took a week away from news and social media, and then felt guilty for doing so and not feeling like a responsible informed citizen of society. Only to come back and start the whole cycle of emotions all over again.
But then I came across a thread from sociologist Jennifer Walter, and that helped a ton. I am going to share it below and highlight the phrases in bold that I found most helpful.
“Your overwhelm is the goal. The flood of 200+ executive orders in Trump’s first days exemplifies Naomi Klein’s “shock doctrine” using chaos and crisis to push through radical changes while people are too disoriented to effectively resist. This isn’t just politics as usual - it’s a strategic exploitation of cognitive limits. Media theorist McLuhan predicted this: when humans face information overload, they become passive and disengaged. The rapid fire executive orders create a cognitive bottleneck, making it nearly impossible for citizens and media to thoroughly analyze any single policy. Agenda-setting theory explains this strategy: when multiple major policies complete for attention simultaneously, it fragments public discourse. Traditional media can’t keep up with the pace, leading to superficial coverage.
The result? Weekend democratic oversight and reduced public engagement.
So… what now?
Set boundaries. Pick 2 - 3 key issues you deeply care about and focus your attention there. You can’t track everything - that’s by design. Impact comes from sustained focus, not scattered awareness.
Use aggregators & experts. Find trusted analysts who do the heavy lifting of synthesis. Look for those explaining patterns, not just events.
Remember: feeling overwhelmed is the point. When you recognize this, you regain some power. Take breaks. Process. This is a marathon.
Practice going slow. Wait 48 hours before reacting to new policies. The urgent clouds the important. Initial reporting often misses context.
Build community. Share the cognitive load. Different people track different issues. Network intelligence beats individual overload.
Remember: They want you scattered. Your focus is resistance.
I hope this helps you as much as it helped me. Let me know in the comments what your 2 or 3 key issues are! I am still trying to pick my three, because my problem is I deeply care about everything, so it’s hard to choose. I’m currently leaning towards healthcare, climate change, and diversity & inclusion policies, but I will let y’all know once I decide. And you’ll be able to tell based on what I post on my socials.
Stay well, stay safe, take care of each other.