By Ruth A. Sheets
The first month of the new year has passed and the political upheaval that began just over a year ago continues at an alarming pace. We are not helpless! Here are a few of my ideas to direct some of our efforts to stop this tyrannical takeover. The Substacks I connect with regularly present actions we can take. Here are a few of my responses, slightly modified in some cases to include more recent events.
Lilla, I like your idea of finding ways to educate the American people about the truth. We could do it
- through supposed innocuous advertisements by decent corporations and agencies, mentioning kindnesses people have done as part of their ads, giving a fact about our constitution and its amendments at the beginning or end of each ad, “did you know that . . .”
- presenting cartoons with positive themes about immigrants and others who do good works to help the people of this nation and the world and make it "cool" to watch them and share them among young people.
- Introduce local scholarships for people who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly, but not too humbly in this world.
We have to be creative now in what we do because the creeps have had a half-century+ to do their dirty work against our nation and the world.
David, I heard Eli Wiesel speak once and wondered how he, Victor Frankel, and so many others maintained hope in the face of what they had experienced in the Holocaust. It makes me see that we have within us individually and in groups, the ability to not only sow hope, but also to live it ourselves, making connections with people to keep us/them from losing hart and falling into the chasm of hatred, fear, unchecked anger, and utter cruelty that feed the fascists and other authoritarians who want only power to keep people under their thumb to get whatever they want with impunity. We need to become the actors, as Bernie Sanders, AOC, and so many progressives have done, speaking, writing, drawing, composing works that can break through the walls that fascists and others build. Hiding our heads and pretending none of this matters and there is nothing we can do is not acceptable.
Joseph the challenge is that we don't all have the same idea of what it means to be "a good person" or virtuous. For Trump and his toddler pool, it is to get as rich as possible, stepping on whoever happens to be in the way of their accumulation of money and power. People who want to just be rich as their life's goal think a good person is one who can do whatever it takes and not look back. I think we can put out some portraits of what it means to be a person of virtue, "a good person" through children’s books, articles, posters, Tee-shirts, and social media directed toward young people. We can include civics education in our schools from Kindergarten through college, incorporating it through reading, science, and social studies, even math with material at each child’s learning level, making lessons fun and compelling. We can emphasize, in our news and entertainment programs, people who have done positive things that matter, large or small (skipping quickly over those who are not people of virtue instead of dwelling on them). We could do this through a campaign , pushing networks, social media platforms, and even NPR/PBS to stop putting Trump’s various actions and his name as the first thing on all of their news reports; he isn't worthy of the honor, particularly when he has done something illegal, like bombing boats in international waters, kidnapping the president of Venezuela, and threatening to invade other nations. Cover these, but only with facts, reminding people that these are wrong actions.
Marc, It can be pretty dark now, but we will come out on the other side of this as a different nation, hopefully for the good. Again neighbors are helping neighbors and many on our courts are working to stop the insanities of this regime. It is giving us a good look at those who do not value this nation, our constitution, and our laws. We need to focus on them to see who they are, what they are doing, and how they can be redirected. The oligarchs need to be addressed directly with higher taxes on all their wealth as well as their corporations. Having too much, as they do is bad for everyone. We could make a big difference on how this insanity is moved out. We all need to stay vigilant and peaceful, protesting whenever we can and encourage others to protest with us no matter the obstacles. Courage, our values, and our Constitution should be our guides. Hope should give us what we need to keep moving forward.
It’s time more effort is placed on covering the actual courage being displayed in our nation, and it isn’t in the white house or among ICE or the Border Patrol. Kudos to the people of Minneapolis for weathering the bitter cold to stand up to Trump’s paramilitary thugs. Thanks to people all over the country who are finding their voice and courage to protest in the face of this Trumpian regime. Keep in mind the next “No Kings” event is set for March 28th. I hope to see you there in person or in spirit!
