Keep your bearings and know the fight we are in
[Note: As readership of Heidi Says has grown, it has been brought to my attention that some background on me might be useful. I’ve expanded the “About” page accordingly.]
The scale and pace of Republican Fascist activities escalates daily. Bizarre, sadistic, dangerous measures spew from Trump, his overlord Musk, and the puppets in his Cabinet. It makes it difficult to focus. Yet we cannot effectively oppose this utterly rogue federal executive branch if we succumb to disorientation. My advice, based on what works for me: don’t chase every new bit of breaking news. Find the issue or area that most concerns or interests you and follow that closely. Find a couple of commentators or publications you trust and read them regularly.
Do not forget that we are in a long, hard slog. It will take decades to reverse this country’s slide into corrupt fascism. It can only be done through the accretion of small efforts, none of which may seem efficacious in the moment. Do what you can when you can. Go to a meeting of a local progressive organization. Write a letter to the editor. Make phone calls to your members of Congress. Participate in economic boycotts of companies selling out to Trump. Speak truth in public. There are millions of Americans who want to change the country for the better. No one of us is going to make it happen and even all of us trying will not make it happen quickly.
Bracing ourselves for the long, long haul will protect us from self-inflicted and unwarranted discouragement. We are not on a peacetime footing, where policy disagreements can be handled by regular political processes affected by two or four year election cycles. We are in a cold civil war that has been gaining momentum since at least 2017. In this sort of political and cultural situation, we cannot expect to change things in couple of months or even a couple of years. Indeed, we can’t sensibly declare a timetable for change. Instead, we must commit ourselves to the work of change no matter how long our efforts must go on. That sort of commitment requires habits of concentration, action, and refreshment. Habits take time and practice to develop. Join me in focusing selectively and closely, in choosing one or two actions daily or weekly, and in resting and rejuvenating when you can. This is how we build and sustain a steady, inexorable movement toward a better polity.