My activism has felt sluggish the past couple of weeks, and my relationship with democracy is suffering. I’m overwhelmed by ICE and the concentration camps, by the deliberate dismantling of infrastructure that led to the deaths in Texas, and by the continuing breaches of the US Constitution. The June 14th actions were thrilling-5 million Americans took to the streets, the largest protest ever! And then?
Then, nothing. If anything, the political landscape seemed to degrade even further.
So at our Indivisible steering committee meeting when we made the decision to hold a rally on July 17th, I felt…well, less than enthusiastic. Because I’m in a leadership position, I didn’t broadcast that feeling. But knowing that humans are more alike than different, I realized that many of you are probably in the same boat. So instead of just shaking my virtual pom-poms about next Thursday’s day of action, I decided to have a conversation with my partner Erin about my own flagging energy. He’s a coach and highly astute about many things, and I’m hopeful that you’ll find our chat useful and relatable as you navigate the ups and downs of your own relationship with democracy and the resistance movement.
Find a protest near you here. If you aren’t able to be at a live protest, scroll to the bottom of this list to find a virtual one.
And there are other actions you can take, including:
Join a local chapter of Indivisible. Activism is so much more fun in community, and we are also much more effective/impactful when we work in groups.
Shop local as much as possible, and avoid large corporate businesses like Amazon and Starbucks. Buying used when possible is even better.
Join Jessica Craven’s Substack, Chop Wood Carry Water and phone your reps daily. She provides scripts, so it’s easy. It really matters, even if your reps are Dems, and the staff are lovely. If you’re shy, phone before 8 and after 5 and you’ll get the machine. I schedule mine in during the week. It takes me 5 minutes.
Make sure your news sources are sound. I like the Guardian, Wired, Heather Cox Richardson, Jay Kuo, and James Greenberg.
Spend as little time doomscrolling as possible.
Write a letter to the editor or an op-ed to your local paper about your concerns.
Join a local mutual aid group if your community has one.
Talk to people you know who might not be informed. The more people who understand the dire circumstances, the better chance we can grow our movement and ultimately move away from fascism.
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