A young man in a retro arcade stands with his arms out to the side, shrugging. He has a mullet hairstyle and is dressed in 1980s attire. — Author illustration created from original AI-generated image (Imagen 3/Gemini)

“It’s fine. It’s whatever.” <<Apparently, that’s my subconscious go-to line when I’m irritated about something but am trying not to make a big deal of it. I didn’t even realize I said it until my husband sweetly pointed out one day that I tend to say that when things definitely aren’t fine. He’s a very intuitive fella. ;)

We’re both Gen Xers, and I think Media Culture (cited below) described us accurately when it said that our generation tends to “have a pragmatic, self-reliant, and skeptical outlook.” Skeptical?? Whatever. (<<That was sarcasm, btw.)

We were the OG latchkey kids; many of us stayed by ourselves after school starting in elementary grades. Heck, I was on my school’s Safety Patrol at age 10, where I was responsible for helping younger kids cross the street, equipped with a wooden “Stop” paddle and an orange sash/belt. I may have also had a whistle. Oh, and a shiny badge! :)

Some of us were babysitting other kids by age 12 (not including siblings, which often started earlier than that). We’ve been contributing to Social Security since that first “real” job bagging groceries or scooping popcorn at the movie theatre, although I would venture to guess that most of us Gen Xers haven’t really counted on having access to those funds upon retirement.

Gen Xers have been “instilled [with] a sense of resilience and adaptability … attributes that have contributed to their reputation for independence and resourcefulness.” Ours is often called the forgotten or neglected generation, and CBS News was ironically spot-on in its 2019 graphic titled “Generation Guidelines Defined By Birth Year,” which excluded Gen X from the list. Figures.

Crestcom put it this way: “Gen Xers learned to do things for themselves, and as such, often exhibit independence and a desire to work alone. Generation X prefer keeping red tape and meetings to minimum. Goal achievement is synonymous with work ethic.”

Self-sufficient, resourceful, goal-oriented, jaded loners … Ya think?

We’re used to having to make do, figure things out, improvise, adapt, and overcome. So, now that the federal government has been LITERALLY overtaken by the broligarchs and dodgy DOGE goons, we find ourselves in another “what now?” position.

I have a Magic 8-Ball toy in my office, but unfortunately, it’s about as helpful for planning ahead as the M.A.S.H. paper folding game was in middle school (I never did get that mansion on the beach). Jokes aside, the truth is, I don’t know what the hell is happening. It’s scary; it’s maddening; it makes my stomach hurt.

Meanwhile, Chief Cheeto has channeled his inner Napoleon by announcing on social media: "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law," and the Red-hatters are lapping it up like a cat licking its rearend. Today, he claimed authority over independent regulatory agencies, touting that only he and the Attorney General have the authority to interpret the law.

The constitutional foundation of our republic is being tampered with, and although members of the minority party are trying to intervene, they have to rely on the courts to have any teeth in the game. The Red-hatters in Congress (and the majority of Justices on the Supreme Court) have the power to actually do something to stop what amounts to nothing less than a coup, yet they lack the cojones to do anything at all.

Attempting to brush off my stress with, “It’s fine. It’s whatever” won’t help this time. Instead, I’ll leave you with some quotes from the Hamilton Broadway musical that feel awfully relatable right now: