“Remember, darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good.”- P.C. Cast

My relationship with darkness is complicated. Growing up, I was terrified of it and how trees in particular loomed dangerously out of it, poised for attack. But even then, when I got upset or overstimulated, I would shut myself in the windowless bathroom and turn off the lights.

Now in my twenties, I am more comfortable with the dark. I cannot sleep with even the smallest light and those shapes that loomed no longer frighten me quite as much, but even so, I know that there is danger in the dark, mostly in the form of humans, so I tend to stick to lighted places. And still, I take comfort in a windowless bathroom with the lights switched off.

Last night, I took comfort once again in the dark. But this time, it was the living room and my parents were with me. We talked about being helpless in the face of Trump, his thoughtless, often destructive actions, and his supporters and advisors who enable him. We talked about helping out as much as we can and how it doesn’t seem like enough. We talked about staying cognizant of current issues and continuing to live our lives.

While my parents and I were literally sitting in the dark, we were trying to stay enlightened, something that it is not always easy when the media does not always show every side and when the U.S. media in particular does not always broadcast international news.

I think maybe the most important thing to do in this time is to consume knowledge. Knowledge fights ignorance. Knowledge sets dark and light from each other. But don’t forget critical thinking. Critical thinking not only sets dark and light from each other, but examines what is really dark and light, what is good and evil.

To help fight ignorance, especially about other countries and cultures, I recommend listening to the new NPR podcast, Rough Translation, which brings a topic from the U.S. and then examines how that topic is discussed and viewed in a different country. For example, one episode discusses racism in Brazil and another, fake news in Ukraine.