There will be a lot of hand wringing, gnashing of teeth, crying, finger pointing and a whole lot of other useless activities among progressives and within the Democratic party.
Apathy and despair are not an option. That’s what Trump and his allies are counting on.
But we're not going back!
So, what you are going to do about the Trumpist agenda? What positive steps will you take starting today, starting right now?
For me, those are the only questions that matter right now. Look forward, not back.
To the many volunteers in my community and throughout the country, thank you. I know you will be back at the front lines.
But to those who have never volunteered before, your families, friends, and communities need you now more than ever. It’s about becoming part of a new resistance doing what you can – every little step forward matters to someone.
Creating a new resistance requires groups of compassionate, caring people working within their communities. Making your communities a little bit better every day. That’s takes all of us – because we’re moving forward and we’re not going back.
And it will take a community to check Trump’s worst impulses. We can’t stop them all, but we can stop some and blunt the impact of others.
What does that mean for you and me?
expand connections within your community (like-minded people are out there – you’re not alone),
protect institutions like libraries and school boards,
help the people who are being targeted,
use your economic muscle to hold businesses (even local ones) to account for their support of Trump’s agenda, and
don’t be afraid to speak up and have the hard conversations – Trumpists count on you being afraid.
And we must hold our elected officials accountable. Bad policies and even worse laws arise in darkness when no one is looking.
A great place to start is with local and state officials who embrace Trumpism. So go to a school board meeting, show up at a public meeting of your city, borough, township, county electeds.
Write a letter to the editor. Your target audience is local officials. They are all tracking the news about them and they hate bad press.
Send an email or a post card (post cards don’t go through the same security reviews as letters). Better yet, call your local officials – someone in their office will answer or you can leave a message.
Will any of this make a difference? Absolutely! And it’s in our hands. Don’t wait for someone else to save the day.
Every person, one day and step at a time, can make a change. It’s called resistance.
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