If our only choice is to live on our knees, we are not free

Today is the 30th of January, 2026. Old T-Bag has been in office for just over 12 months. In that time we have witnessed extrajudicial murders, arresting journalists, invasion and kidnapping people in other countries, outrageous suggestions of annexation, kidnapping of citizens, kidnapping of non-criminals who have protected status, and state-sanctioned murder, some of which was caught on video. In fact, what all of this is, is state-sanctioned terror. And it is wrong.

Today is the 30th of January, 2026, and the US is in a general strike. My current company, Observable, closed today in support of the strike. This government criminality cannot continue. The US has always believed that it is exceptional. One one hand, we say we’re exceptionally smart; exceptionally business-minded; exceptionally innovative. Then we hear a completely different side: America is exceptionally cruel; exceptionally violent; exceptionally backward. The US is not exceptional, and exceptionalism releases us from agency. Exceptionalism says this is what is and it’s too big to change. The US is atypical. We are good and bad and everything in between.

Not being exceptional is good. That means we can do better. It means we can look at ourselves in the mirror of history, find ourselves lacking, and make different choices.

Today is the 30th of January, 2026, and I am tired of this biased, paranoid, and misguided punishment that the government seems determined to enact. I am enraged at the injustice, the breach of laws. I am disgusted at the disrespect for human rights and human life. So today I will make a cup of coffee and sit with my husband. I will support my community by catching up on some volunteer work for my favorite park. I will remember that I belong here. You belong here. We belong here. In order to belong, we must feel safe. And you can’t feel safe when masked people are going around snatching others off the sidewalk.

Today is the 30th of January, 2026, and today is a good day to realize that if our only choice is to live on our knees, we are not free. No work. No school. No shopping. Stop funding ICE.