Worthy of Our Time

Everyone seems to be gleefully soaking in the very predictable Trump/Musk breakup. And part of me gets it. The implosion was imminent. These two toxic, self-serving figures have done immense damage, and it was only a matter of time before they turned on each other. That kind of ego always eats itself eventually.

But as the memes circulate and the jokes fly, I feel something different: sadness. This isn’t a punchline for me. It’s not a game. I lost my livelihood because of these two dipshits. My income. And far more devastating — programs that supported HIV research, cancer treatment, and basic public health were gutted under their influence. What they broke isn’t theoretical.

And still—still—I can’t root for their destruction. That’s not who I am. I’ve spent my career building things that help people, believing in community, in care, in leaving the world a little less cruel than we found it. 

I vote not to punish, but to protect others because I believe we are only as strong as our weakest link, even those who don’t vote like me.

(I want every person who sees themselves as my political opposite to read that line again.)

What breaks me is this: we live in a society where men like this fail upward. Repeatedly. Abuse, lies, corruption. None of it sticks. They get the mic, the money, the stage, while the people they harm are left to sweep up the pieces quietly, without spotlight or support.

I’m tired. I’m angry. And I’m heartbroken by the way power shields the worst and forgets the rest. We deserve better. All of us.

In a more hopeful moment, I toured the National Academy of Sciences in D.C. today. I’ll leave you with something Einstein once said:

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”