Another New England school shooting the day before the anniversary of the Newton murder of first graders. A massacre of Jews celebrating Hanukkah in a country that did not suffer much gun violence since buying back firearms 30 years ago. And the murder of prolific artist and outspoken activist Rob Reiner and his wife inside their own home.

Last weekend sent this American even farther into a shell of a depression, where I sat awaiting further details on the tragedies. I wanted to know who to blame for my inability to fight the good fight from inside a cocoon that felt both involuntary and self-imposed. With clarity on the violence, the alleged perpetrators either dead or in custody, and another holiday season weekend upon us, the cocoon is melting away, but the disconnect remains strong.

How horrifying to be relieved that the murder of Jews in a post October 7th/Destruction-of- Gaza world is a result of radicalized supporters of the Islamic Republic, rather than related to the recent war. With 15 dead and dozens still fighting to recover, one would think the motive for the shooting should not matter. But in a politically charged era of heightened antisemitism, it does.

It is also horrifying to live in a time where it was logical to fear the Reiner killings might be political retribution for Charlie Kirk, especially after the Paul Pelosi home attack. Should one not feel relief about any murder? Perhaps not. But no one knows what should be these days.

All we know, with the alleged perpetrator of the Brown University shootings found dead in New Hampshire, giving finality to that horror, and the Trump administration continuing to reshape the country in MAGA image and escalate political horrors, is this:  Depression is a luxury that lovers of constitutional democracy and human empathy cannot afford.

Feel our feelings, for sure, as the saying goes, but then get up and do the next right thing. Some weeks are harder than others to put one foot in front of the other. This is not the Hanukkah any Jew was expecting; this is not a season that feels all that jolly. So, we must make it so by counting our blessings, honoring the memory of people and principals lost… and by trying to do something not to lose anymore than necessary of either.