taking it personally, redux

The awesome Bitch, Ph.D. has written her last two posts about how totally awful the State of the Union speech made her feel. It reminds me of what I said about taking it personally. All this stuff affects us. It affects our lives. It affects our chances of going bankrupt, having major health problems, getting hassled in public, being able to raise our kids in a safe world, having wilderness near us, getting drafted. Bush's presidency makes it harder for me - me personally - to get a job, because everything I want to work for is getting its funding cut. And if things get really bad, it will be our lives that we have to put on the line. Even worse, I don't feel like I have any control over any of those things.

I'm not surprised that she feels like shit. Some days I'm surprised any of us actually function.