Paying attention to President Donald Trump is exhausting.

The litany of his unethical and norm-shattering actions is seemingly never-ending. He and his administration careen from one disconcerting policy to the next, unafraid of upending global relations, unsettling the daily lives of Americans and immigrants, and spitefully undoing the legacies of his reputable predecessors.

Day after day, the news is about him — but only because it has to be. Just in the past two weeks, Trump attempted to block Harvard from being able to enroll international students; he pardoned the son of woman who paid $1 million to attend his meme coin dinner; he pontificated on the perils of “trophy wives” to West Point graduates; he continued his illogical and economically devastating trade war; he made progress on the passage of his budget bill that would cut taxes for the rich and slash Medicaid and food aid; and he kept up his habit of spreading divisive, hateful messages on national holidays.

The list, of course, goes on — and we haven’t even mentioned the ceaseless lunacy of his appointees.

For some, the incessant stream of headlines about Trump has become more than enough to turn off the TV or avoid the newspaper at all costs.

And, while we really can’t blame anyone who needs to take a step back from the overwhelming cacophony of his nonsense, we cannot, en masse, turn our backs on the blatant corruption of our nation’s institutions, laws and morals.

We must collectively bear witness to this disaster.

Because if we aren’t paying attention, we cannot push back against the destruction and mayhem, however possible — contacting our elected representatives, protesting, boycotting or simply contributing to the groundswell of disapproval.

But bearing witness is also an important form of resistance simply because it prevents us from growing numb to the totality of suffering that Trump and his administration seem intent on causing to the most vulnerable among us.

One of the defining mantras of the first Trump administration was, “This is not normal.”

After Trump’s reelection and the GOP’s capturing of both houses of Congress, it has grown increasingly difficult to claim that Trump and the havoc he wreaks are in fact not normal.

It might now be normal for the U.S. to be an unreliable ally. It might be normal for us to deny the realities of science. It might be normal for us to scapegoat minorities and the LGBTQ communities.

It might be normal to lie with impunity, use the office of the president for self-enrichment and to weaponize the government against your political foes.

It might be normal. But it should not be normal.

The mantra for this second Trump administration must become: “This shouldn’t be normal.”

And this mantra should serve as a call to action.

Watching the endless doom scroll of Trump-caused bedlam is deeply demoralizing and can make it feel like we citizens have no agency. But nothing could be further from the truth.

To start, we can — and should — continue mobilizing the electorate against Trump and the sycophants currently crowding the GOP tent. And, while we prepare for the midterm election cycle to begin, we should also seek to improve our own community.

Of course, helping out our community is not going to counteract an extremist immigration policy or put a stop to the bigotry that has been unleashed, but it is a great way to remember that we do have agency and we really and truly can make our neighborhood and our city and our state better places for those living here — even if the country around us is not living up to her ideals.

There are many ways to get involved and make positive changes. A great place to start is to volunteer with or donate to a local nonprofit.

We can also get civically engaged and attend City Council meetings or any of the meetings of our local boards and commissions, which benefit from citizen input and oversight.

We can subscribe to and support local media to help bolster the resources available to us (and others) to hold those in power to account. And we can do our part to ensure the next generation is civically minded, media literate and prepared to take on the challenges of the future.

Bolstering our own community will not only serve to make Boulder County a better place, it can also fortify us against coming economic pain, it can create resilience in times of hardship, and it can serve as a reminder that America should not be a place of apathetic cruelty.

Despondency is of no more use in uncertain times than apathy. The country around us, as led by a self-serving and malicious president, may not look anything like the country we once knew, but we as a community are not powerless. We can keep making our home a better place for everyone here.

As Trump continues laying waste to our federal institutions and undermining our cultural values, keep paying attention. Read the news. Call your elected officials. Get involved in your community. Don’t go numb. Don’t let apathy win. This shouldn’t be normal.

Gary Garrison for the Editorial Board