A Brave New World
At the time of this writing, the Trump administration is working to dismantle decades worth of scientific, environmental, safety, health, legal, and civil rights advancements. Their dangerous and reckless acts are endangering the lives of millions of people in the US and around the world and benefitting only themselves and those who have been deemed valuable enough to buy or bribe their way into a seat at his table. This country is not a sound-stage with the backdrop of a corporate boardroom and we are not audience members. Trump is playing with the lives and futures of all of us- the people who voted for him and those who didn’t. Despite his disavowal of Project 2025 while on the campaign trail, he has been issuing executive orders that virtually mimic the rhetoric of the extreme right and that are far beyond the scope of his office or the intentions of many of the people who voted for him.
I’m disgusted about the direction Trump and his corporate sponsors are trying to take this country. They are trying to do everything in their power to crush the diversity, principles, and commitment to “a more perfect union” that has made us who we are. Their tactics are designed to divide and distract us because if we spend all our energy being afraid and pitted against each other, we might not notice that they’re selling off everything we’ve created to the highest bidders. What they’re doing has nothing to do with their so-called morality and everything to do with their insatiable lust for money and power.
But there are so many things they can’t take away from us: our integrity, our values, and our ingenuity. People are doing things, from big organizations to individuals and everything in between. Groups like the Human Rights Campaign, Americans for Immigrant Justice, Planned Parenthood, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the ACLU are working harder than ever to educate and advocate for the people who are the most impacted by the hate-filled executive orders that have been spewing from the Oval Office. Smaller, grass-roots organizations are mobilizing to provide relocation support and protection to immigrants and trans people.
Federal judges are blocking new edicts that are antithetical to our clearly established laws and precedents and lower courts are working diligently to process name changes, second parent adoptions, and marriages for queer and trans people. Civil servants are remaining steadfast to their positions despite threats and bribes intended to scare them away. The “Alt” agency groups that started on Twitter eight years ago are resurfacing on Bluesky. People are leaving Facebook and Instagram because their integrity is more important to them than their followers. People are finding alternatives to shopping at Walmart, Target, and Amazon because they know that companies that cave in this easily to Trump’s disdain for DEI initiatives never really believed in theirs to begin with.
People are donating to organizations who have been working for immigrant justice, LGBTQ advocacy, and civil rights and environmental protections, despite the insidious disincentive that Trump enacted in his last term by raising the standard deduction. People who are looking for ways to give their time, talents, and treasure are going to service fairs and finding volunteer opportunities that most align with their passions and skills. The principles so clearly outlined in “Micro Activism” by Omkari L. Williams are helping people realize that we can all contribute to the work we see needs to be done, whether we’re organizers or producers, headliners or one of the many indispensables. Organizations like the Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership (aka The Truth School) are teaching movement-building skills through one-time or short-series classes (including a recent offering by Ms. Williams called “Activism for Introverts and Highly Sensitive People”) and the unique mission of the Rosenberg Fund for Children offers support to families who have been targeted because of their activism. Resources like the Americans for Conscience Checklist are curating lists of things people can do, whether they have 10 minutes or 10 hours to give.
People are realizing that dramatic increases of voter suppression, dark money, and blatant lies propagated by the media and on the campaign trail have created a system in which people aren’t able to cast an educated vote or, any many cases, any vote at all. We’re seeing where this is headed and we’re not going to let it go there.