Defining Gravity
What Pulls Us In, What We Refuse to Carry
First, a huge thank you to everyone who has subscribed to my Substack. I had no idea so many of you would rally around me simply typing ideas into my phone and posting them on the internet. But here you are, and I’m here for it.
Today is only day three of writing here, but I can already see myself falling into one of my biggest frustrations with other platforms: I came in looking for depth and ideas—and immediately got lost in a rush of dopamine and information. I clicked through, following people I knew, people I wish I knew, people I thought I could learn from. Oh, I love Substack already, but I can see how easy it is to turn even a space for thinking into a space for overconsumption.
And maybe that’s a real problem—not just with social media, but with how we choose (or don’t choose) to consume information. How much of our frustration with the news, with the media, with our online spaces… is something we can actually control?
Because right now, the assault on our collective sanity is coming from two directions:
The crumbling of democracy as we’ve understood it for generations, and
The algorithm-driven content designed to keep us reactive, outraged, and exhausted.
We weren’t built for this. And yet here we are.
Defining Gravity (Part I): What We Gravitate Toward
Gravity isn’t just weight—it’s attraction. It’s what pulls us in, what keeps us tethered, what defines our reality.
So what is our gravity? What do we hold as non-negotiable?
In a world full of noise, we need to be deliberate about the beliefs and values we let pull us in. And we need to be just as deliberate about what we refuse to be yanked around by.
One of the most effective strategies of those in power is forcing us into a purely reactionary stance—pushing us to define ourselves against something rather than for something.
We don’t have to take the bait.
We don’t have to let every headline hijack our emotional state.
We don’t have to reflexively reject an idea just because of where it came from.
We don’t have to let algorithms dictate what we think about, talk about, and believe.
We are in charge of defining our own gravity.
Defining Gravity (Part II): The Weight of the Moment
I’ll be the first to admit: It feels anywhere from uncomfortable to outright irresponsible to write about anything other than the immediate and very real outrages of the last few days.
But strategy doesn’t happen in a state of terror.
If we’ve learned anything, it’s that the headlines will continue to be terrifying for weeks, months, possibly longer. If we’re going to respond to this moment in a way that actually matters, we have to get our heads right.
That doesn’t mean disengaging. It means choosing how we engage. It means finding a common page—not just one built on shared outrage, but on shared purpose. One rooted in our passion for community, in a vision for a bright, inclusive future.
That kind of clarity doesn’t happen when we’re burnt out and emotionally hijacked.
Unshakeable Truths: Science, the Constitution, and Resilience
There are exactly two things keeping me annoyingly calm today:
Science. Because at its most basic, science is the pursuit of truth. It is the process of asking questions aimed at deepening our understanding of reality. And no government, no social media algorithm, no bad-faith political movement can erase what we know to be true. Though should they try, someone else will repeat the scientific process, and get us back to those original outcomes and conclusions.
The Constitution. Because for all its flaws, it is unyielding in its promise. It is not perfect, and it has been tested, twisted, and stretched. But short of burning it altogether, there will always be Americans who find new, clever ways to champion its underlying ideals.
We are at the center of a relentless tug-of-war. The current administration wants us to feel untethered, scattered, exhausted. It’s not enough to win and claim a mandate - their long term success is contingent on us believing a few falsehoods (including but not limited to):
Our reality was somehow fiction all along
We are at the mercy of forces too big to fight and resources too big to comprehend.
That our progress from centuries of blood, sweat, tears, and relentless determination can be erased with a few simple keystrokes.
But pull back the emerald curtain just a smidge, and it’s clear that—like a certain wizard—they wield their power through fear, deception, and a carefully constructed illusion. And they couldn’t be more wrong.
Defining Gravity for Myself
So today, I am choosing to define gravity for myself.
I choose to notice what pulls me in.
I choose to determine what weighs me down.
I choose to be intentional about how I engage.
Which is why, last weekend, I bought a physical newspaper.
Not because it’s the most efficient way to get information, but because I wanted to slow down. Because I wanted to engage with the world on my terms. Because I wanted to remind myself that I do not have to exist in a state of constant urgency just to be informed.
This week, my focus is writing. Having conversations. Building community.
What’s yours?
Because we can hold steady—even in a world that profits from our collapse.
TL;DR:
In the words of wisdom from Elphaba in Defying Gravity:
We don’t have to play by the rules of someone else’s game.
Some things we cannot change, but it’s too late to go back to sleep.
Everyone deserves a chance to fly.
And most importantly:
Together, we’re unlimited, and there’s no fight we cannot win.
So glad as a neighbor to have you move to activism on what has been inflicted on us through ignorance.