Guest Opinion | Things Will ‘Eventually’ Work Out

I’m not sure why I get so teary-eyed while watching The First Lady, Gaslit, This is Us, or, for that matter, The Equalizer and Law and Order, SVU. What do they have in common?

By Lauren Pressman

Each portrays strong women who, in the face of adversities, seem able to not only maintain their will to improve conditions, but also are free to express emotions unapologetically. I find myself crying and laughing with them; their struggles and accomplishments touch me deeply.

My motto for almost my entire life has been, “things always work out.” I know that for that to happen, we can’t just sit back and expect the best outcome; we have to work at making the best outcome happen. These days, I’m not feeling so hopeful. My most prominent emotions are anger, fear, despair, sadness. I cry a lot. I am feeling powerless while I watch those in charge, mostly white men, display an ignorance, at best, and at worst, a willful disregard for facts, for what’s best for their constituents, and for the nation’s populace at large. The issues are endless – the climate crisis, immigration, healthcare, reproductive freedom, racial disparities and discrimination, the war in Ukraine, the abundance of assault weapons in the hands of angry, ignorant, and mostly white, young men.

Last evening, my husband, my son and I watched the lunar eclipse. What a phenomenon to behold. As I kept my gaze on the red-tinged moon being enveloped by the earth’s shadow, I couldn’t help but put things in perspective, as I often can’t help doing while being a spectator of the universe surrounding our planet. We are but a speck and yet the turmoil on this tiny living spot is overwhelming. But I also believe that, just for a moment, hundreds of thousands of people in the world are looking up, beyond their reach, to watch in awe, along with me and my family, at the wondrous beauty of this natural event. If only there were such events more often so that we would realize what we as humans have in common is so much more than what separates us.

In the meantime, I will continue to watch my shows to help me take a respite from the daily grind of difficult news and relish the female stronghold over what is good and right and necessary.

That being said, I will also continue to do my part, as should all women and men, by keeping myself informed about all that is going on in our world. And by continuing to take any actions that I can, be it donating money, textbanking, writing postcards and letters to get people to vote, participating in rallies and protests, and, of course, voting. There are more of us who know the truth than there are who wrongly believe. Our truths must prevail. I want to believe, once again, that “things will (eventually) work out.”

Lauren Pressman is a resident of Sierra Madre. She is a retired high school counselor and long time activist.