On vacation

It feels weird to be away as the fascistic forces barrel ahead. But there’s never a perfect time to take a break from the madness to recharge, it seems.

Dear readers,

I’m on vacation this week, and it does feel odd even as I’m relaxing and unwinding. The world is not normal. With so much happening, it never seems like the right time. It hasn’t felt right, on and off, since 2016, but certainly it’s been a constant again since late 2024.

And this moment appears particularly fraught—though thinking back, they all have. I actually had to cancel my original vacation plans in recent weeks. Hoping to get out of the cold of New York, we were headed to Medellín, Colombia, a beautiful city in the mountains where it is springtime all year round. Then the bombs dropped on Venezuela, and the threats came to Colombia, and at that moment it seemed we should cancel (less than two weeks before we were leaving) and reschedule for another destination before we couldn’t.

Of course, Donald Trump is so fickle that after we reworked our plans, things changed somewhat; he had a “great” call with the Colombian president, and they’re planning to meet at the White House. But of course we couldn’t change our plans back so late. And who could trust it?

That is the world we live in with an unpredictable, debilitating dictator. And my having to change vacation plans, let me point out, is the very least of the terrible problems people have had to endure amid Trump’s madness.

I’m thinking you all probably know this feeling. We are in an emergency, our democracy is in danger, and yet we’re taking vacation. It’s particularly disorienting if you work among those trying to make change and fight back.

But it truly is important to recharge while others are working hard and have your back, because you’re no good if you’re burnt out. So, when it comes time, take a break and get re-energized. We have so much to fight back against, and we all need one another.

The always incisive Nayyera Haq, a former Obama State Department official and White House official—and an expert in foreign affairs—is guest-hosting on my SiriusXM program this week, as those of you who listen already know. And with Iran and other places unraveling amid violence, she’ll bring a lot of perspective.

I’m counting on all of you to keep the conversation engaging here, so please post your thoughts and feelings in the comments. I’ll probably drop back, but if not, I’ll see you all when I’m back at the beginning of next week.