Solidarity

Friends,

I admit that my thoughts often burst into an angry rant. And like most rants they are my opportunity to sound off in relative isolation without any accountability. Sometimes it may make me feel better, and there is always some truth in all the ranting, of course. But my rant is largely a "fools errand” because it usually leads nowhere. And when I can calm my thoughts I am able to attempt a more reasonable response to my outrage if that is possible.

Bear with me as I begin with my current “rant" - and you may want to skip this part if you’re not in the mood! My rant is, of course, aimed at Trump and the shallowness of character and lack of mercy in his cabinet members and the spineless Republican Congress. I can summarize my complaints by saying it clearly appears that one after another of Trump’s pronouncements by executive order are meant to provoke both fear and anger. The goal seems to be to offend our integrity, common sense and the national welfare as much possible. As long as he able to do so, he and his accomplices will keep upping the ante to see how much we will tolerate before some among us become angry enough to respond violently, which is apparently what he wants so that he can then use his ultimate “presidential” power of armed violence and respond with even more physical force and possibly to declare martial law. It’s scary to watch the stealthiness of the movement toward authoritarianism without a particularly promising response from Democrats or other sources that mostly mean the people ourselves

Which leads me to respond to my “rant" with a message of resistance, encouragement, not much of a solid proposal really, but more of a quiet expression of hope that is as real to me as the Trumpian reality of oppression and fear.

Even in the face of all the goading and provoking I am also aware of an encouraging, growing nonviolent resistance movement. Perhaps most promising, the thousands of Americans who turned out for "Kings Day" are in the wings to join a massive movement to confront and successfully challenge the current assaults on our freedoms and rights. Although they didn’t provide a "tipping point," the widely successful national event offered the assurance that another reality is occurring in addition to the Trumpian authoritarian quest. I regret I have no sense of the extent or timing of our current plight, but I learned to practice patience when we had no idea how long the Covid pandemic would last, and I am trying to use that patience training now.

The opposite of cowardly is brave, and what we can read, even through the tamed mainstream media, we see daily reports of people in government and other public sectors, as well as probably hundreds of people who are not reported, courageously following their conscience to refuse to carry out illegal or harmful demands. And each act of bravery is significant both in terms of personal esteem and the cumulative impact of example. And for the resister it is important to know they are not acting alone. Perhaps you have your own family or favorite stories of this form of courageous resistance, and we need to pay attention to those folks and support them both publicly and privately as appropriate. The more solidarity, of course, the better, if not essential, l in the face of the unprecedented, largely self-defined authority Trump yields, both domestically and internationally. [The wars in Gaza and the Ukraine, among other issues and are another topic.].

And then the question keeps coming back to me in my eclectic thoughts: what can I or each of us do to creatively join the nonviolent resistance within the bounds of our lives, values and integrity, and our professional and leadership roles. As emphasized above, we can -  and perhaps must - join in solidarity with others, no matter how small a group, to express and prepare for our mutual support, especially for those who are victimized by the unlawful and often cruel ICE practices. We can write letters, make calls, and join in any group planning strategic support for next year’s elections. We can pray for those who do speak out courageously in government and through the local media and other means. And we can simply offer our prayers that our better angels will stop the madness before it does become violent.

Peace,
Tom