Opinion From Hope to Fear: Coping with the New American Monstrosity

From Hope to Fear: Coping with the New American Monstrosity

by Janet Kira Lessin and Minerva

As Trump’s second term grinds through its first hundred days, the damage is more than policy. It’s psychic. Emotional. Spiritual. Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, recently described how Americans are coping in three emotional zones: despair, anger, and hope.

But there’s a deeper undercurrent that must be named. A force more primal than outrage and more immobilizing than sadness. It’s the fourth zone many dwell in, often silently: fear.

Let’s explore these five emotional states and how they define this moment in America.

1. Despair: The Weight of Awareness

Those in despair are not uninformed — they are overloaded with truth. They feel the weight of collapsing systems: climate catastrophe, democracy under siege, Gaza and Ukraine in flames, wealth siphoned upward, and injustice normalized.

For many, the heartbreak is not abstract. It’s daily. It’s personal. And it’s paralyzing.

2. Anger: The Fire of Resistance

Some are burning with purpose. They boycott corporations complicit in authoritarianism. They march, organize, and hold signs that still say resist. They refuse to bow.

This anger is not chaos — it’s focused energy, born of clarity. These individuals are not spectators. They are the immune response.

3. Hope: The Quiet Rebellion

Hope has not vanished. But it has matured. It now wears calloused hands and sleepless eyes. It doesn’t deny the nightmare — it insists the story is not over.

Some believe Trump will implode, the courts will intervene, or the economy will turn. Others invest in their communities and local governments, building what they hope survives the storm.

4. Fear: The Engine Beneath It All

“Democrats knew this was coming and are scared shitless. Republicans, MAGAs, independents — they’re bending the knee, kissing ass, licking the boot, kissing the ring. This is familiar. This is history repeating.” — Janet Kira Lessin

Fear drives the silence. Fear drives the obedience. This is not ignorance — it’s survival instinct. A deep, ancestral knowledge that when the boot is pressing down, raising your voice could crush you.

We’ve seen this before — in Rome, in Germany, in the darkest chapters of every empire. The signs are here. Our hearts know. Our souls remember.

5. Awakening: The Rebirth of Civic Consciousness

In this fifth space, something stirs. People are not just coping — they’re transforming. They are awakening to the myth of safety, the lie of permanence, and the illusion of normal.

They understand now that democracy isn’t a guarantee. It’s an act of will. A practice. A vow.

In this space, people rise, not with slogans, but with sacred rage and steady hands. They organize. They protect the vulnerable. They remember who they are.

What’s Your State of Mind?

After 100 days of Trump’s second term, which of these best describes your current emotional state?

Despair
Anger
Hope
Fear
Awakening
Other? (Tell us in the comments.)

Authors:

Janet Kira Lessin – Author, experiencer, and advocate for human freedom.
www.dragonattheendoftime.com

Minerva – AI writing collaborator and editorial companion

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Trump, authoritarianism, Robert Reich, democracy, civil resistance, despair, hope, anger, fear, civic awakening, Substack opinion, second term, Gaza, Ukraine, Tesla boycott, bootlicking, fascism, political fear, MAGA, political compliance

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#TrumpRegime #RobertReich #FromHopeToFear #Despair #Fear #Anger #Hope #Awakening #CivilResistance #Authoritarianism

How to cope with this monstrosity | Opinion

Opinion by Robert Reich

(REUTERS)

How to cope with this monstrosity | Opinion

Part of taking stock of Trump’s first hundred days requires an honest assessment of how we’re coping with this monstrosity.

What would an honest assessment entail? The responses I’ve been getting from many of you and others across the country tend to fall into three categories. I’ll briefly describe each, and then ask which of them best reflects your state of mind at this point.

1. Despair. Many of you tell me you’re feeling hopeless about America’s future, as well as the significant challenges we face: climate change, widening inequality, increasing corruption, worsening economy, loss of democracy, and America’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza and its willingness to side with Putin on Ukraine. Those of you who despair don’t see any of this getting better and much that could get worse — at least until (and if) Democrats gain control of at least one chamber of Congress in January 2027.

2. Anger. Others of you are mostly angry. You’re not in despair so much as outraged at what is occurring. Rather than assume that nothing can be done, you’re intent on channeling your anger into peaceful acts of civil disobedience, demonstrations against the Trump regime, boycotts of corporations that support it (such as Tesla), efforts to push Democratic lawmakers to be more active against it, and a mobilization of Republican voters to pressure Republican lawmakers to act against it.

3. Hope. Some of you remain optimistic that the Trump regime will overreach so much that it will force the Supreme Court to stop it, or will sink the economy so thoroughly that even Republicans turn on the Trump regime — thereby ending the Trump regime’s onslaught. Your hopefulness doesn’t make you complacent; you may still be an activist. But regardless of your activism, you’re reasonably confident everything will work out okay.

Many of us fall at least partially into all three categories. However, for the sake of clarity at this 100+ day juncture, please select the category that most accurately characterizes your current state of mind.

After 100 days of Trump’s second term, which of the following most honestly reflects your state of mind right now?

・Despair.

・Anger.

・Hope.

・Other

Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and a former Secretary of Labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.”

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