A Point in Every Direction is the Same as Having No Point at All – Focus, People

In 1971 an animated TV production called “The Point” aired, featuring Ringo Starr as the narrator and with the music of Harry Nilsson. One of the key points (pun intended) of the show was the quote, “A point in every direction is the same as having no point at all.” I loved the show and its music, and the message was brilliant. And it’s completely relevant right now.

The Trump administration is dumping a mountain of executive orders to radically diminish, if not destroy our power as citizens to govern ourselves. He brought Elon Musk in to theoretically improve the efficiency of the government, but it looks a lot more like a blanket layoff as many of us have encountered in the private sector. The result of this on us is predictable; confusion and concern, anger and fear, and general grumpiness all around. There’s so much going on that it’s difficult to track all the variable insults that are impacting democracy and our way of life, and that appears to be part of their strategy, to “flood the zone” and create chaos to limit our ability to respond to slow down or stop the deluge.

So many things to worry about, DEI wiped out, eliminating regulatory bodies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, stopping USAID, pulling out of global organizations, incompetent cabinet appointments, invading Treasury Department databases, oh yeah, and turning Gaza into a beach resort, they’re all terrible. And resistance from our Democratic leadership as well as mainstream Republicans is scattered at best. It’s a mess. Trump has clearly put us on our heels and forced us into a reactive mode and that gives him more power and more room to create additional chaos.

But hold on, we are only in the THIRD WEEK OF THIS ADMINISTRATION! It would be amazing if anyone could get a coherent and effective response together in that short of a time frame. Our leaders are doing what they can in the short time that they’ve had to work on the problem. Lawyers, legislators, and lobbyists are pushing back in every way that they can to slow or stop the avalanche. Protests are happening across the country, allowing people to express their anger and frustration, and to stop or slow down some of the actions underway. Legislators are complaining about the number of calls that they’re receiving from their constituents. All good. But what does that mean for the rest of us?

It's really, really easy to be distracted by the latest dark utterance of the domestic equivalent of Jabba the Hut. That’s what they want, confusion and distraction.

What can we do?

Simple, don’t be confused, don’t be distracted, focus. It’s fine to support an issue that matters to you, whatever that might be, but don’t get lost in the noise, and forget what we have to do here. We must take away his and his minion’s power, first in 2026, and then finally in 2028. That’s the over-arching goal. If we achieve that goal, we can reverse the idiotic chaos that we’re living through, we can start to rebuild a rational and representative democracy, and we can give our children and grandchildren the opportunity to live in freedom, in control of their own lives. This is all that matters. Period.

“A point in every direction is the same as having no point at all” and that’s where we are now. Our leaders will get a handle on this, our litigators will block whatever they can, and our organizations will find ways to fight back. Support the organizations that are addressing issues that matter to you, but don’t forget that the most important thing is the biggest thing. Our top priority has to be to focus on getting rid of the Trump administration with our voices, our actions, and our votes.