Tired – But Not Done

I’m tired of leaders who confuse outrage for strength.
I’m tired of politics as performance art.
I’m tired of applause lines that fix nothing.
I’m tired of slogans that substitute for substance.

I’m tired of everything being “unprecedented.”
I’m tired of “breaking news” that only breaks our trust.
I’m tired of people more loyal to tribes than to truth.
I’m tired of faith used as a weapon instead of a witness.

I’m tired of being gaslit until apathy feels like wisdom.
I’m tired of mistaking cynicism for insight.
I’m tired of sound bites pretending to be solutions.
I’m tired of leaders who mistake cruelty for clarity.

I’m tired of moral flexibility sold as pragmatism.
I’m tired of people who shout “freedom” but fear accountability.
I’m tired of outrage being monetized.
I’m tired of empathy being mocked as weakness.

I’m tired of “thoughts and prayers” instead of “help and hope.”
I’m tired of debates where no one intends to be persuaded.
I’m tired of algorithms deciding what deserves my attention.
I’m tired of influencers with nothing worth influencing.

I’m tired of the noise that drowns out nuance.
I’m tired of “whataboutism” replacing introspection.
I’m tired of leaders who mistake attention for accomplishment.
I’m tired of those who cry “fake news” while peddling convenient fiction.

I’m tired of people who can’t say, “I was wrong.”
I’m tired of those who think winning justifies everything.
I’m tired of conversations where compassion is the first casualty.
I’m tired of the endless outrage cycle that feeds on our fear.

I’m tired of politics treated like sport, and truth treated like opinion.
I’m tired of people who would rather burn the house down than share the porch.
I’m tired of leaders who campaign on division and govern by distraction.
I’m tired of pundits who think volume equals insight.

I’m tired of shallow certainty- allergic to doubt, aloof of grace.
I’m tired of being told that caring makes one naïve.
I’m tired of treating cruelty as entertainment.
I’m tired of how “us versus them” keeps winning over “we the people.”
I’m tired of how numb we’ve all become.

But weariness can be energizing- it means our conscience still works.

I’m not tired of people who still show up to serve quietly.
I’m not tired of citizens who read before they react.
I’m not tired of small kindnesses that go unnoticed but matter.
I’m not tired of young voices demanding better.
I’m not tired of laughter that breaks through the tension.
I’m not tired of truth- even when it’s uncomfortable.
I’m not tired of the slow, stubborn work of healing.
I’m not tired of the neighbor who still shovels your sidewalk.
I’m not tired of those who keep showing up when no one’s applauding.
I’m not tired of the quiet courage it takes to stay kind in an unkind age.
I’m not tired of the conviction that life is not a spectator sport.
I’m not tired of the stubborn decency that still lives in ordinary people.

I still believe in the slow burn of change over the flash fires of fury.
I still believe in a patriotism that doesn’t need an enemy.
I still believe that listening- really listening- is more radical than protesting.
I still believe that facts matter, that character matters, that words matter.
And I still believe that empathy is its own form of intelligence.

Hope may not be trending.

Some mornings, the silence before the headlines feels like a mercy.

Maybe we’ve even forgotten what caring looks like when no one’s watching.

I may be tired- but I’m not done.
And if you’re tired too, good. That means you still care.
That means you’ve still got skin in the game, conscience.
That means your heart hasn’t gone quiet, even if your patience has.

Take a breath. Stand up.
Shake off the cynicism like dust from your shoes.
Because the world you want won’t arrive through exhaustion-
but through the resolve of those tired enough to tell the truth,
and stubborn enough to hope anyway.