Dear Tell All: 2017 is the most horrible year I’ve ever lived through, both for me personally and for the world. Almost every week I thought “This can’t get any worse.” Then it did.
The year got off on the wrong foot with Donald Trump taking the oath of office. But at least I was laughing at him in January, when he pathetically lied about the crowd size at his inauguration. After 12 months of Trump’s toxic behavior and poisonous policies, I’m not laughing anymore.
Wisconsin politics are no better, thanks to gerrymandering that has guaranteed Republican majorities. This unfair advantage has allowed Republicans to succeed in their pet projects of undermining the University of Wisconsin, the environment, the school system, and other formerly good things about the state.
Mass shootings. Natural disasters. A sexual harassment epidemic. Good people dying, like Tom Petty and Mary Tyler Moore.
In my own life, my long-term relationship broke up. I’ve been living on my own since June and haven’t had a single date since then.
The year can’t end fast enough, although I’m worried 2018 will be even worse.
Doom and Gloom
Dear Doom and Gloom: I’m not surprised that your relationship ended and that you can’t find a date. You don’t exactly sound like a barrel of laughs.
I’ll grant you that, for a liberal like you, bad things happened politically in 2017. But what about the positive developments for progressives, like the Women’s March and other signs of a powerful resistance? What about the credible investigation of the Trump administration’s ties to Russia? Plus, if you’ve stopped laughing at Trump — given the steady stream of gaffes and malapropisms — you just don’t like to laugh.
It’s true that there’s no upside to mass shootings and natural disasters, but the sexual harassment scandal is flushing scoundrels out of power and causing the whole world to rethink inappropriate behavior. And the U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on the Wisconsin gerrymandering case, so at least there’s hope for your side.
And I hate to tell you, but good people die every year. Welcome to planet Earth. Hey, at least 2017 took care of Charles Manson for us.
Instead of sitting around worrying that 2018 will be even worse, Doom and Gloom, I recommend taking positive action. Join the next protest march. Get on Tinder. You don’t seem to realize that part of the responsibility for creating a good year falls on all of us, including you.
Do you have a question about life or love in Madison?
Write Tell All, 100 State St., Madison, WI 53703. Or email tell all@isthmus.com
