A Song of Ice [in D.C.] and [L.A.] Fire
A personal perspective on current events
It’s only January 2025, and yet so much has transpired already in the last month. I can’t tell from the plethora of emotions I’ve been feeling whether I am more sad or angry from everything I’ve witnessed.
As there are two sides to every story, two separate entities are describing the USA around us at large. On one side, we have the world completely frozen over, both metaphorically and physically. On the other side, it is going up in flames, again both physically and metaphorically.
The news has been flooded with coverage of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, which have consumed the Pacific Palisades as well as other parts of the city. I feel a personal attachment to the city, as I used to call it my home. I lived there from 2016 to 2020 and left right before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the city. I only had a taste of what some of my friends and acquaintances have gone through over the past four years. It doesn’t help that the entertainment industry has had to deal with numerous strikes all the while. Now, on top of all that, the city around them is burning once again. At the beginning of the year, we found out that the Pacific Palisades had burned and gone up in smoke. The fire quickly spread and grew into a catastrophe. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and people were evacuated, unsure if their homes would still be standing when they returned.
The beautiful city of Los Angeles
What makes my blood boil is something a mutual friend posted on her social feeds regarding the fires. There are those who believe that people in Los Angeles are only the rich and that they "got what they deserved" in regards to their homes being destroyed. In my 30 years of life, I have never heard such vile things come from a human being’s mouth. I thought we were better than this—do better. For those I’ve become acquainted with who are either evacuated or trying to fight and survive, my greatest sympathies are with you. I am unable to contribute financially at the moment, but all I can do is send my thoughts and love to the West Coast during this time.
And while Los Angeles burns, D.C. freezes over, with varying snowstorms rolling into the DMV area. In the first couple of weeks of January, we’ve had ice storms, snow, and sleet, with up to nine or ten inches of accumulation.
There’s something about snow that is both ethereally beautiful and eerily haunting. I haven’t figured out what is so chilling about the color white, but it might be attributed to the bleak surroundings. The cold embrace of the winter air might also contribute to this train of thought.
It’s not just the weather that has D.C. frozen in place. With the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump only happening last week, it seems as though the world froze, holding its breath, waiting for some kind of relief. However, instead of relief, it was just a brief interlude before taking another sharp inhale. Ever since our 47th president was sworn into office, I remain frozen. I cannot breathe. Every day, a new story comes out that shocks the world, and yet, through it all, I’m not surprised. Nothing surprises me anymore. One of the most disturbing of these was the claim that Elon Musk performed a Nazi salute at one of Trump's celebratory rallies. Obviously, most people took this as an offensive gesture, while others tried to convince the world that it was a harmless “my heart goes out to you” gesture.
BULLSHIT.
A gesture, even if it’s small, has been known to start wars. They have been known to raise leaders and give birth to their ideals. That was no small gesture—it was made with intention. Even to my disappointment, the Anti-Defamation League put out a statement of “support” if that’s what most people are referring to it as. It makes my stomach turn.
It doesn’t seem real at all. All I can do is laugh—laugh at the ridiculousness and the farce that has been paraded around the capital for the world to gawk at.
But even in this ever-encompassing world of darkness, there is always a glimmer of hope. Most people don’t see it now, but every day we have to fight to find those glimpses of good, no matter how small. We’ve had three hostages who were recently returned home to Israel after a long time in captivity. It’s baby steps—one step at a time. No matter how small or insignificant the step, at least it’s something. I also recently submitted to a prestigious writing competition, and in my highest hopes, my story will be selected, and I can share my viewpoint on these affairs with the world.
The country is divided. I’m not naïve enough to think that the next four years are going to be easy. I know that at any moment, people like me and people who are different from me—will have their voices and rights silenced. I know that, in an instant, everything can be taken from me. But there is one thing that no one can ever take away, and that is my faith and my will to keep going.
I know I sound like a broken record when I repeat myself over and over again, but maybe it’s necessary to keep that broken record around rather than throw it in the trash. After all, a mantra, a repeated phrase, can keep anyone's sanity in check—even mine.
I’m not sure who needs to hear this today, but no matter who you are or where you are, I am here for you—no matter what. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what struggles you're facing, no matter who you love or believe in, no matter your race, religion, or creed—I am here for you. I hope, if nothing else, that my sentiment can be a shelter, a blanket—if only for just a few spare seconds of comfort from the world around us.
Yes, we witness the world burn and freeze over now, but the only actions that will matter are what we do in the aftermath of the storms.
