Anand, you hit the nail squarely on the head — bullseye! I couldn’t have put it so eloquently but I’ve had the same thoughts. Your point is further echoed in the climate movement, where there is not nearly enough sense of urgency in the majority of people.
Yes, they are worried. What I was getting to is that not nearly enough people treat it as a serious threat, a pending catastrophe. If they did, there would be a mass mobilization, I think.
Anand, the way I keep from sinking into despair and hopelessness is by focusing on ACTION. I think you could do a great service by including, every day, some specific ACTIONS we can take, instead of just ideas Thank you
Well in my neck of the woods, every time I go out I wear one of various t-shirts that say, "No Kings in America", "We The People Means Everyone", etc., and with the exception of one time that I can recall, I am the only one doing that. I live in Asheville, which is a blue area in the middle of a sea of red around it, so this is something many more people could be doing on their travels. Why aren't they? Too afraid? In denial? Several folks have made it a point to tell me they like my t-shirt. That's great, but what are you waiting for? I am reminded of one of my favorite lines from JAWS, "I think you're going to ignore this problem until it swims up and bites you in the ass"!! In their case, perhaps they are waiting for ICE to take away someone they know personally, or maybe they are waiting for someone they know to be a "good" person to be fired from their job for speaking out on something they believe to be wrong. Guess what, it's too late when you see your loved one whisked off to Alligator Alcatraz or God knows where.
I agree. I do not need to read or watch the news for hours a day to understand how bad things are. I much prefer to do something. I am very involved with my local Indivisible group and highly recommend those who want to active sign up with your local Indivisible or start one if you don't have one close by. We readers can also share what we are doing in the comments section.
Check out Jess Craven’s Substack “Chop Wood Carry Water” she has daily lists of things to do and on Sundays details positive things that have happened (sometimes) because of our actions.
This is just a bit harsh. I'm an Indivisible group leader, and I participate in all the actions as well as working to inspire and inform others. I've been organizing in a purple state for nearly 9 years, and my mental health is fragile. I draw major boundaries around news consumption--or maybe I should say news SOURCE consumption. The NYT enrages me daily with its "both sides" coverage, but I still subscribe and open it every few days as if it's a hand grenade with the pin removed. In order to keep going and stay hopeful, I absolutely have to avoid all TV news and most major outlets, but I read lots of newsletters (always The.Ink!) and a few independent sources.
I focus on issues that I can do something about. Outrage with no outlet or action is wasted energy, and when I feel my anxiety level spiking I have to turn away. I may not be as broadly informed as some, but guarding my sanity and determination to keep going requires avoiding the level of news consumption I used to maintain.
Yes, Anand, you are right. For people whose lives are centered only on their own well-being, it' can be comfortable to live in an authoritarian state. But if your values, your compassion, your humanity extends to others, especially to "the least of these," it's impossible to be okay.
The challenge is to balance joy and sorrow.
My husband and I are looking forward to resuming our weekly protest in Fort Myers outside our retirement community.
I don't read or watch the news, to maintain my sanity. But I see enough to know that authoritarianism is here and that we must fight and do everything we can to resist and dismantle it.
There’s no doubt in any of us that we’d do whatever it took to save our children. In my parenthood, I often went outside my comfort zone. I want to do that now.
I never knew how much I — not just love- but depend on, the rule of law. I believe all of us have to give up something now. What if we had a General Strike? Like a union. He’s treating the country like a business- and we the people make that business run.
The more wealthy among us should now be stepping up and saying, I’ll pay for someone’s food if they get fired, etc.
What is the point of “keeping “ everything we all have - time, money, position- if the world they’re making will smash it anyway?
Okay, I get it, but WHAT CAN I DO? I do all the things you and your guests talk about. I discuss socially, I protest. My protest signs hang visibly on my front door. All the people I trust are saying don’t you get it? Yes, I fucking get it, but I can’t stop the horrid inertia. I am frustrated by the “aren’t you paying attention messages”. Someone craft a plan that is creative and powerful. The pleas and opinions are just words.
This is our time. If this authoritarian power grab is going to be stopped, we the people will have to do it. We need more; we need more now. In the last day Obama, JD Pritzker, Chris Murphy have all said, the people need to push back. Rob Bonta, the CA AG has called for "crowds and courage". My close friends are out protesting, calling, canvassing, and registering voters, but I know way more people who are heading out on vacation and acting as if nothing has changed. Civil society is cracking. It's hard to believe the media is not standing up for free speech, but they are collapsing--mergers are more important than their mission. We need a sense of urgency. Free speech affects both the right and the left. Tarrifs affect both the right and the left. Rather than fighting one another we need to band together to fight the authoritarian overthrow of our government. I've been reading "From Dictatorship to Democracy" by Gene Sharp. It was first published in 1993 in Bangkok, but it's relevant today. Let's go.
When I first heard that Robert Redford had died earlier this week --
Well, when I heard he died, I teared up.
You gotta understand, I don't usually cry when a celebrity dies. And I was never a big fan while he was alive.
But, after reading all the eulogies and watching all the clips, I realized that I had intuited something about the man that stirred me, how he lived his life.
All men should take instructions from Robert "Bob" Redford. You'll never remember, much less assimilate all of him, but whatever you do remember will contain elements of tenacity, generosity and kindness, strength. Being as visually stunning -- well, that's icing on the cake.
So, here's what I'm waiting for:
DJ, I'm telling you like it is. You will never be like Robert Redford. Universally liked and respected. You'll never be as talented, as generous of spirit. As sexy and good looking.
So hurry up and die.
I'm not talking grievous bodily harm. No martyrdom.
I'm not talking about rotting away on the inside, where no one will ever see more than the blood bruise on your right hand. As you eat yourself alive. No, none of that.
Just hurry up and die.
Quietly. Perhaps with your digit poised above your phone's screen.
Thank you Anand. I just signed up for October 18. I had intended to become more active after the death of my partner, but I tripped and fell and broke a vertebrae in my lower back and am just now feeling human again and I don’t want our country to go backwards.
When people hold politics that best suit their specific social standing and are fine with anything as long as that standing is preserved, then those people are not going to regard Trumpocracy as a threat to them if it genuinely is not. In other words, the essay is great but it needs to use words like "class" and "power" to really stick the argument.
Anand - you’re ignoring the fact that this ‘boiling the frog’ form of creepy authoritarianism has been going on now for a decade. It’s gathered steam and is now close to controlling 335 million people by force of arms. There hasn’t been a major protest march since his first inauguration. There should be millions out protesting in every major city every weekend.
Where is the articulate, honest, authentic and charismatic leader calling us out en masse to demand honest government and an end to billionaire grift?
Are you that person? Or, like me, are you just an articulate, knowledgeable critic watching the imminent takeover of America by a few hundred corrupt billionaires who believe they’re superior and deserve unlimited gain on the backs of the other 99%? Where is our Gandhi? Where is our MLK jr.?
Anand, you hit the nail squarely on the head — bullseye! I couldn’t have put it so eloquently but I’ve had the same thoughts. Your point is further echoed in the climate movement, where there is not nearly enough sense of urgency in the majority of people.
Check out what people think from this research source
https://climatecommunication.yale.edu
Yes, they are worried. What I was getting to is that not nearly enough people treat it as a serious threat, a pending catastrophe. If they did, there would be a mass mobilization, I think.
https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/top-public-worries-in-the-u-s/?utm_source=Yale+Program+on+Climate+Change+Communication&utm_campaign=736f1581fd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_09_10_05_57&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-736f1581fd-711482501
Anand, the way I keep from sinking into despair and hopelessness is by focusing on ACTION. I think you could do a great service by including, every day, some specific ACTIONS we can take, instead of just ideas Thank you
The time to act is now. Find and join a nearby chapter of a group such as Indivisible https://indivisible.org/ and become a pro-democracy activist. Work toward bringing the 3.5% rule within our reach: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world . It may be our best/last hope of setting things right.
Well in my neck of the woods, every time I go out I wear one of various t-shirts that say, "No Kings in America", "We The People Means Everyone", etc., and with the exception of one time that I can recall, I am the only one doing that. I live in Asheville, which is a blue area in the middle of a sea of red around it, so this is something many more people could be doing on their travels. Why aren't they? Too afraid? In denial? Several folks have made it a point to tell me they like my t-shirt. That's great, but what are you waiting for? I am reminded of one of my favorite lines from JAWS, "I think you're going to ignore this problem until it swims up and bites you in the ass"!! In their case, perhaps they are waiting for ICE to take away someone they know personally, or maybe they are waiting for someone they know to be a "good" person to be fired from their job for speaking out on something they believe to be wrong. Guess what, it's too late when you see your loved one whisked off to Alligator Alcatraz or God knows where.
I do agree. And Arand you are preaching to the choir. What can you do outside this bubble of ours?
I agree. I do not need to read or watch the news for hours a day to understand how bad things are. I much prefer to do something. I am very involved with my local Indivisible group and highly recommend those who want to active sign up with your local Indivisible or start one if you don't have one close by. We readers can also share what we are doing in the comments section.
Check out Jess Craven’s Substack “Chop Wood Carry Water” she has daily lists of things to do and on Sundays details positive things that have happened (sometimes) because of our actions.
doing anything
democracy docket is where to give and help, among others
I agree, we need to participate in our civil liberties to protect our freedoms 🇺🇸
TWENTY LESSONS ON TYRANNY read by John Lithgow.
https://open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/twenty-lessons-read-by-john-lithgow?r=kxzps&utm_medium=ios
This is just a bit harsh. I'm an Indivisible group leader, and I participate in all the actions as well as working to inspire and inform others. I've been organizing in a purple state for nearly 9 years, and my mental health is fragile. I draw major boundaries around news consumption--or maybe I should say news SOURCE consumption. The NYT enrages me daily with its "both sides" coverage, but I still subscribe and open it every few days as if it's a hand grenade with the pin removed. In order to keep going and stay hopeful, I absolutely have to avoid all TV news and most major outlets, but I read lots of newsletters (always The.Ink!) and a few independent sources.
I focus on issues that I can do something about. Outrage with no outlet or action is wasted energy, and when I feel my anxiety level spiking I have to turn away. I may not be as broadly informed as some, but guarding my sanity and determination to keep going requires avoiding the level of news consumption I used to maintain.
The time to act is now. Find and join a nearby chapter of a group such as Indivisible https://indivisible.org/ and become a pro-democracy activist. Work toward bringing the 3.5% rule within our reach: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world . It may be our best/last hope of setting things right.
Yes, Anand, you are right. For people whose lives are centered only on their own well-being, it' can be comfortable to live in an authoritarian state. But if your values, your compassion, your humanity extends to others, especially to "the least of these," it's impossible to be okay.
The challenge is to balance joy and sorrow.
My husband and I are looking forward to resuming our weekly protest in Fort Myers outside our retirement community.
I don't read or watch the news, to maintain my sanity. But I see enough to know that authoritarianism is here and that we must fight and do everything we can to resist and dismantle it.
The time to act is now. Find and join a nearby chapter of a group such as Indivisible https://indivisible.org/ and become a pro-democracy activist. Work toward bringing the 3.5% rule within our reach: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world . It may be our best/last hope of setting things right.
There’s no doubt in any of us that we’d do whatever it took to save our children. In my parenthood, I often went outside my comfort zone. I want to do that now.
I never knew how much I — not just love- but depend on, the rule of law. I believe all of us have to give up something now. What if we had a General Strike? Like a union. He’s treating the country like a business- and we the people make that business run.
The more wealthy among us should now be stepping up and saying, I’ll pay for someone’s food if they get fired, etc.
What is the point of “keeping “ everything we all have - time, money, position- if the world they’re making will smash it anyway?
Okay, I get it, but WHAT CAN I DO? I do all the things you and your guests talk about. I discuss socially, I protest. My protest signs hang visibly on my front door. All the people I trust are saying don’t you get it? Yes, I fucking get it, but I can’t stop the horrid inertia. I am frustrated by the “aren’t you paying attention messages”. Someone craft a plan that is creative and powerful. The pleas and opinions are just words.
Forward forward forward to our contacts must read
This is our time. If this authoritarian power grab is going to be stopped, we the people will have to do it. We need more; we need more now. In the last day Obama, JD Pritzker, Chris Murphy have all said, the people need to push back. Rob Bonta, the CA AG has called for "crowds and courage". My close friends are out protesting, calling, canvassing, and registering voters, but I know way more people who are heading out on vacation and acting as if nothing has changed. Civil society is cracking. It's hard to believe the media is not standing up for free speech, but they are collapsing--mergers are more important than their mission. We need a sense of urgency. Free speech affects both the right and the left. Tarrifs affect both the right and the left. Rather than fighting one another we need to band together to fight the authoritarian overthrow of our government. I've been reading "From Dictatorship to Democracy" by Gene Sharp. It was first published in 1993 in Bangkok, but it's relevant today. Let's go.
When I first heard that Robert Redford had died earlier this week --
Well, when I heard he died, I teared up.
You gotta understand, I don't usually cry when a celebrity dies. And I was never a big fan while he was alive.
But, after reading all the eulogies and watching all the clips, I realized that I had intuited something about the man that stirred me, how he lived his life.
All men should take instructions from Robert "Bob" Redford. You'll never remember, much less assimilate all of him, but whatever you do remember will contain elements of tenacity, generosity and kindness, strength. Being as visually stunning -- well, that's icing on the cake.
So, here's what I'm waiting for:
DJ, I'm telling you like it is. You will never be like Robert Redford. Universally liked and respected. You'll never be as talented, as generous of spirit. As sexy and good looking.
So hurry up and die.
I'm not talking grievous bodily harm. No martyrdom.
I'm not talking about rotting away on the inside, where no one will ever see more than the blood bruise on your right hand. As you eat yourself alive. No, none of that.
Just hurry up and die.
Quietly. Perhaps with your digit poised above your phone's screen.
But fast.
So, DJ, do us all a favor. Hurry up and die.
That's what I'm waiting for.
Thank you Anand. I just signed up for October 18. I had intended to become more active after the death of my partner, but I tripped and fell and broke a vertebrae in my lower back and am just now feeling human again and I don’t want our country to go backwards.
When people hold politics that best suit their specific social standing and are fine with anything as long as that standing is preserved, then those people are not going to regard Trumpocracy as a threat to them if it genuinely is not. In other words, the essay is great but it needs to use words like "class" and "power" to really stick the argument.
Anand - you’re ignoring the fact that this ‘boiling the frog’ form of creepy authoritarianism has been going on now for a decade. It’s gathered steam and is now close to controlling 335 million people by force of arms. There hasn’t been a major protest march since his first inauguration. There should be millions out protesting in every major city every weekend.
Where is the articulate, honest, authentic and charismatic leader calling us out en masse to demand honest government and an end to billionaire grift?
Are you that person? Or, like me, are you just an articulate, knowledgeable critic watching the imminent takeover of America by a few hundred corrupt billionaires who believe they’re superior and deserve unlimited gain on the backs of the other 99%? Where is our Gandhi? Where is our MLK jr.?
I’m 83 and Ready-to-March!