How are you feeling? The information cycle appears like a twister that’s sweeping us all up. However listed below are two issues I’m conserving entrance of thoughts about what’s occurring within the U.S. proper now (and please share your ideas within the feedback)…
1. Keep regular, keep centered. The Trump administration created a particular plan for kicking off his second time period: shock and awe. They figured they’d flood the media and overwhelm the general public, in order that we’d get so muddled we wouldn’t know what to do after which simply…freeze.
“In the event you overwhelm the media — in the event you give it too many locations it must look, suddenly, in the event you preserve it shifting from one factor to the following — no coherent opposition can emerge,” defined Ezra Klein on his podcast final Sunday.
However don’t consider what Trump says, Klein urges. Trump makes wild, horrifying proclamations, however, as a lot as he could need to, the President can not rewrite the Structure, and plenty of of his proposals are being stopped out of the gate. “Inside days, the birthright citizenship order was frozen by a decide,” writes Klein. “A decide froze the spending freeze earlier than it was even scheduled to enter impact, and shortly thereafter, the Trump administration rescinded the order, partially to keep away from the courtroom case.”
This isn’t to say that issues should not dangerous — they’re. I don’t need to reduce the wreckage. Individuals are residing in immense worry, and plenty of are being harmed, together with trans of us, immigrants, federal employees, the record goes on. Even the threats Trump makes and the language he makes use of make individuals much less secure by selling racism, sexism and “us vs. them” pondering.
As a substitute of freezing in shock, nonetheless, we will act collectively. “The tempo and frequency of those offenses is supposed to flood the zone with shit, as Steve Bannon put it; to confuse, bamboozle, and immobilize us,” writes Jay Michaelson, a rabbi, activist, and former professor, in his e-newsletter Each/And. “They promised that they’d do ‘Shock and Awe’ and that’s what they’ve achieved. Nothing right here must be shocking. Don’t lose your composure.” We’ll stand agency.
2. Get the 5 Calls app, which makes it very straightforward to name your reps. You can also make 5 calls in 5 minutes; they provide the telephone numbers and let you know precisely what to say about main points (like defending the Division of Schooling or combating in opposition to Elon Musk’s authorities takeover or opposing RFK Jr. for Secretary of Well being and Human Companies). It’s easy and simple, and these calls make a distinction.
Additionally, contemplate studying Indivisible: A Sensible Information to Democracy on the Brink, which presents crystal clear methods for combating again over the following 4 years. Written by two very sensible, humorous individuals, this information felt bolstering to learn.
Please share your ideas under — these are extraordinarily troublesome occasions, however we have now a whole lot of good individuals on this nation and a whole lot of power and bandwidth. Sending huge hugs and solidarity.
P.S. Poetry, in the event you want some proper now.
(Picture by Jess Woodhouse/Stocksy.)
