Right after the election the argument on the Progressive Left was how bad is it going to be? Some folks thought it would just be another bad 4 years of Republicans. Others felt it was going to be the end of Democracy. Many felt it would be the implementation of the 2025 Project. Pretty much everyone I know is saying "This is worse than I thought it would be". Worse because while we could easily see that there was going to be a push to round up immigrants, pardon Jan 6th offenders, go after political enemies, persecute LBGQT folks and roll back environmental programs....I don't think most people expected the pace or the wide range of bizarre things peppered on top (The Gulf of America, the claim for Canada to be the 51st state, the creation of DOGE with an unelected and not congressionally confirmed Musk at its head).
But as has been pointed out by many at this point, that is the point of shock and awe. On a recent Friday just two weeks into the new administration, Trump had at that time made 50 Presidential orders. The group was asked how many orders they guessed he had made? The guesses ranged from 75 to most people guessing 200 or more all the way up to someone saying 500. I was fascinated that no one underguessed, and that it felt so huge to us. This speaks to how the shock and awe is actually working. Everyone I meet says they are overwhelmed and exhausted. This of course is because the assault is not limited to executive orders, it is also the parade of horrible cabinet appointments and the stream of threats and bizarre untrue claims.
If one thinks about the classic stages of grief: the first is denial, numbness, shock and the second is bargaining. All of us who have wanted to believe he would not win or that what was to come would not be "that bad" have operated in denial. Many of us are just frozen right now - exhibiting classical numbness and shock - like an animal frozen in the road as a car hurdles toward it. Those who are arguing we can just pull this back in two years at mid terms or that "we have survived 4 years of Trump before" are operating in bargaining. it is important to cry hard enough for the country you once had that you can face present and fight for a country you want.
I have written previously about my advise to folks to limit their news consumption because the media is like a dog with a squirrel - all stories are given equal attention and they are running all over in frenzy and if you run with them you also are in a frenzy. This creates the feels of overwhelm and hopelessness and numb disbelief. It further disempowers and takes us into the frozen state. I have recently asked two activist groups (most of whom were consuming news) to list signs of resistance or things that were hopeful. Mostly they could not do it. Oddly I who was limiting my news intake could. It was because I had not swamped my own boat. Also it is important to dismiss no piece of good news because the overall picture is still bad. Each piece matters and if they grow they start to impact the outcome.
What I think is helpful is to limit yourself to essential information so that you can focus and resist. So what is essential? It is not useful or important to know about the drama that continually surrounds Trump. As you select stories to read - read the ones that matter to the maintenance of Democracy. What we must keep our eyes on are what are the actions that dismantle democracy and move the US towards fascisms? As Erica Chenowith, historian of non-violent overthrows has already stated:
Among the most urgent work in a moment of potential backsliding is to both protect the most vulnerable people from direct harm, while also upholding the rule of law. If you don’t defend the rule of law, you lose it, and the terrain becomes much more uncertain and treacherous. Most urgently, this means filing suit against every move that appears to be illegal and/or unconstitutional. We are seeing some of this happening already with regard to the executive orders and some of the firings of inspectors general, etc., but many more such cases would be needed for the federal courts to fully exercise their authority to contain executive power.
So we need to keep paying attention to action that are unconstitutional (not simply annoying or inhumane) and bring them to courts as well as the court of the people - which means our noncooperation with that which is illegal and immoral.
It is helpful to stay remembering that because of the number of people in the US who are not registered voters (27%) and the people registered who did not vote - Trump only won 1/3 of the US adult population. We need to keep remembering that we the disaffected are actually the majority and then act like it. We need to keep remembering a vision of a society where Democracy functions fully, where people are treated humanly and like they matter and we need to keep acting for that society.
We need to disobey orders that are illegal or immoral to hurt other people be they immigrants, or LBGQT folks or BIPOC groups. We need to form circles of mutual support that extend resources to those who are being targeted and are suffering. We need to not cooperate in things like the call for Federal works to resign. We need to support verbally and if need be with protest the brave judges and other US officials who are doing the jobs that they are appointed and elected to do! If you have the means support the lawsuits that are challenging illegal actions. Study quickly the history of fascism and non-violent resistance throughout history. Know that throughout history the uprising of the people has removed dictators from power. Show up for upcoming boycotts and general strikes. This is part of how people have brought down dictators before.
The history of Nazi Germany shows that from the time Hitler took power there were repercussions against those who opposed him. But the early repercussions were firings or brief arrests. By the end his power and control was so great people were terrified to oppose him because the penalty by then for opposition was death. In short it is better to oppose in the beginning. The people of Germany had no way to know what was coming so it was way to easy to enter into denial and not step out of one's comfort zones. But we have the benefit of history to know what horrors can still come - it is essential therefore that people come together quickly in unity and act promptly to curb his power before steps like the disbanding of Congress occur or the prohibition of 2026 elections.
The third stage of grief is depression. Many of us are very very depressed right now. That also keeps us from action. The best antidote to depression is action, because it aligns us with hope. Do not sit alone with this. Find the other people trying to change our country and roll up your sleeves.
Among the most urgent work in a moment of potential backsliding is to both protect the most vulnerable people from direct harm, while also upholding the rule of law. If you don’t defend the rule of law, you lose it, and the terrain becomes much more uncertain and treacherous. Most urgently, this means filing suit against every move that appears to be illegal and/or unconstitutional. We are seeing some of this happening already with regard to the executive orders and some of the firings of inspectors general, etc., but many more such cases would be needed for the federal courts to fully exercise their authority to contain executive power.
