One of the things that I think we as human beings need to do every day is forget that we’re one of over seven billion people on planet earth in a solar system located in a galaxy that’s part of a universe that is billions of years old. I always thought that if we could really grasp that, everything we did would feel so insignificant.

Tonight I ran a 5K in Prospect Park. I showed up to find thousands of other runners just like me. And this was a small race on a Monday. After I finished, I was walking home and I crossed the path of the runners who were still finishing. There were hundreds of them still going. I love New York City but I always feel that no matter what it is I’m thinking of doing, I know that at least few thousand people probably had the same idea when I did. Even in my small little corner of the world, I can feel insignificant.

My voice feels insignificant today and it always has with regards to politics.

I went to a rally against George W. Bush and the Iraq War in 2004. We gathered around Madison Square Garden where the Republican National Convention was being held. We waited for an hour or two, walked past it, then dispersed. Later, I remember George W. Bush saying that he wouldn’t listen to a protest because that would be like listening to a focus group.

A focus group of his citizens but no matter. George W. Bush was re-elected, the Iraq War continued and continues.

Today at a summit in Helsinki, Donald Trump sided with Putin rather than his own intelligence agencies. People are calling it treason. Even Fox News pundits, while continuing to denigrate the mainstream media, are upset with him (some merely disappointed but that’s something).

I want to join the chorus of voices condemning him but I feel like my voice will get lost among a million other think pieces, opinions, and Twitter rants. I feel like nothing will come of this. Donald Trump will remain the president and continue dismantling our country.

I’m not advocating complacency, it’s just that sometimes I think getting lost is a gift. No one is looking to me for answers and I sure as hell don’t have any. I can disappear into the seven billion and my fear is insignificant relative to everyone else on earth. And, however briefly, that gives me some comfort.