Should I be working in the middle of a coup attempt?

I have to admit, I feel a little dirty right now. Because I’ve just spent two days dealing with everything that’s accumulated for a few weeks, before hunkering down to finish a grant before an upcoming deadline.

And as I settle in to work, domestic terrorists have seized the US Capitol in a coup attempt. Lawmakers have fled for safety, the building is being looted, and much of the police are in cahoots with the terrorists. And the President just released a video fomenting his militia, saying how he loves the terrorists, and claiming that when he lost the election, it was fraudulent and stolen from him.

I feel bad for even thinking about work. But then, I really do have to work. This grant has a deadline, and I don’t know if NSF is going to extend it because of terrorism? And I also feel bad for writing about this.

But then I took a look at social media, and a lot of people whose opinions I value are also volunteering thoughts of the same mind, asking: “Are we supposed to be working during a coup?” Or, “will my chair understand that I can’t focus on work right now?”

I just wanted to get this post out there to validate these feelings, if you have them, because clearly, you’re not alone. Also, if you have the capacity to really focus on work now, don’t feel bad either! I’m a little jealous of you. Because I don’t really see that there’s much I we can be doing about this coup at the moment, and teaching and science are important now as always. There’s no rulebook or Miss Manners guidelines about how to feel or act when the President is mounting a coup.