I knew it was going to be a bad day for democracy so I purposely went to the movies and hid in the dark with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. For 2 hours I didn’t think about anything except what was on the screen. As credits rolled I picked up my phone to check the inevitable news and cried.

These weeks leading to this confirmation day were exhausting and hopeless. Still, you fight and wonder if your tiny voice will somehow make a difference.

We are fighting a monster that is huge, unyielding, heartless, and insatiable.

To watch the few make decisions that do not reflect the will of the people they represent is maddening. Being ignored is bad enough but now they’ve added a new level of mocking and gleeful celebratory chest thumping that pierces to the bone. There is almost no pretense any longer as they strip away any vestiges of civility.

Atop the writhing monster is a carnival barker, the man gathering the gullible and pocketing the ticket money. His incoherent, hateful garbled message somehow translates into music to the ears of the uneducated. They are swimming in a pot and don’t realize the flame under it is being cranked up little by little. They are blissfully unaware that they cheer their own inevitable demise. How can they possibly feel safe from a monster that shows no mercy?

I’m not sure when, how, or why sexual assault has become a partisan issue. This is a byproduct of a flimflam man whose sole purpose is to distract the crowds so they don’t try to look behind the curtain. It worked. This is the world we live in now.

Meanwhile, the world is on fire. There is too much to comprehend. It’s overwhelming and the worries change with each news cycle. It’s impossible to come up with a plan for one crisis before the next one rears it’s head.

This suits the monster just fine.