{"id":710,"date":"2025-02-03T12:10:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T17:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/?p=710"},"modified":"2025-02-03T12:10:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T17:10:54","slug":"our-individual-efforts-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/2025\/02\/03\/our-individual-efforts-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Individual Efforts Matter!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I keep running into people who have quit keeping up with the news because it\u2019s too painful, or because they don\u2019t think we can do anything about Trump\u2019s presidency, or because they just want to back off a little, take some time off, get away from it for a while. It pains me to see that happening, because that is exactly what Trump wants and he is working hard to get it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s what \u201cshock and awe\u201d is all about. Trump wants to overwhelm us with a blitzkrieg of actions \u2013 some legal, some illegal, some unconstitutional, doesn\u2019t matter — until fatigue overwhelms us and we surrender. We quit actively resisting him, thus allowing him to have his way unfettered.<\/p>\n

Look at how Trump is employing the tactic. Less than two weeks in office, and he already has ordered the ICE raids, canceled programs people depend on, threatened and carried out retribution measures, intimidated opponents, fired inspectors general, stopped many contributions to health and welfare programs, slapped tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, deployed the military domestically, ended DEI programs, prevented trans people from renewing passports, enabled Elon Musk to target spending as well as health and environmental regulations, put unqualified and dangerous people in charge of government departments, and much more.<\/p>\n

And look at what he plans to do. He intends to raise campaign contribution limits and weaken reporting rules, roll back voting rights and prosecute local election officials, defund media outlets like PBS and NPR, restrict journalists\u2019 access to White House grounds, suppress protests against him, place the FBI directly under his control, abolish the Department of Education and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, break up the Department of Commerce, operate in secrecy by eliminating paper trails subject to the Freedom of Information Act, fire the FBI\u2019s top leaders any agents who were involved in his election corruption investigation, and much more. It\u2019s wearying just to write about it.<\/p>\n

But both of those lists, both what he has done and what he intends to do, are just the tip of the iceberg. If you want the Full Monty read Project 2025 \u2013 which he once said he had never heard of it but opposed it [?!] and is now installing it. He even hired most of the project\u2019s primary authors to help him.<\/p>\n

We need to remember this is not a sprint. It is a marathon. If we quit resisting now it will become hard, extremely hard, to catch up. But if all of us who prefer democracy over dictatorship keep resisting in any little way we can, we will stop this sick dictator and restore sanity to our nation.<\/p>\n

So no, I will not quit doing what I can to stop him and his evil machine. And neither must you. Not for a minute. If there ever was an all-hands-on-deck time, this is it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot we as individuals can do that is effective. Perhaps the easiest and quickest thing we can do is to call or write our representatives in Washington and tell them what we think. In a sense that\u2019s a useless gesture because we all know a letter will change nothing. Neither will my vote change anything on election day, but try to keep me from the polls and I’ll walk on your face.<\/p>\n

It’s the same principle: My little letter will change nothing, but when it joins yours, and hers, and his, and theirs, then my little voice counts big. But it must be done by people acting individually. That means you. That means me.<\/p>\n

When we do that, it works! A few days ago, remember, the White House rescinded an order to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. The order would have eliminated critical lifelines for people in need, such as the lifelines that protect Medicaid, food assistance, cancer research and hundreds of other programs. But it was rescinded because millions of Americans, each one acting independently, took a few minutes out of their day to make a phone call or send an email. Because they did \u2013 because ordinary people acted individually — they forced the President of the United States to back down on a major issue.<\/p>\n

But writing that email or making that phone call is just one way that an individual can make a difference. You could run for public office or find someone you like who is running and volunteer to help her\/his campaign. Volunteer a few hours to your county\u2019s Democratic headquarters. Knock on doors (which pols say is hugely important). If you\u2019re a poet, write songs of resistance. If you\u2019re a singer, sing them. This movement needs music. If you\u2019re a writer, write\u2014letters to the editor, letters to Congress, whatever. Encourage any real Republicans you know to keep up the fight so our senators and representatives can one day argue again about what is best for democracy and not whether we want a democracy. Indivisible.org has a list of other meaningful ways you can help. You might want to join a local Indivisible group \u2013 there is at least one in every congressional district in the country \u2013 or perhaps start one. You can find all the information you need at Indivisible.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Look, we’re stuck with Trump for now, and the immediate future will be rough. There\u2019s no getting around that. But we might not have to be stuck with him for the full four years. Common Cause has identified 12 impeachable offenses Trump already has committed, and it started a petition to impeach him that collected 100,000 signatures in the first 11 days.<\/p>\n

Even if the impeachment effort fails to evict him from office, the very people who voted him into office might help ruin him. I haven\u2019t seen any polls on it yet, but I feel certain that a large percentage of those rank-and-file folks who put him in office, especially those farmers and hard-working people in rural areas, are going to begin seeing Trump for what he really is \u2013 a person who lied to them on the campaign trail to get their votes, and now that he doesn\u2019t need them anymore he has deserted them in favor of his multibillionaire buddies. He\u2019s glaring at them with a grin on his face as he shows them his middle finger.<\/p>\n

Surely they won\u2019t like that, and a good percentage of them will join us in our revolt against him. Senators and representatives will see that tide rolling and, for self-protection, will start turning against him. It will only take a few of them, a very few, to make a huge dent in Trump\u2019s plans. It could even turn into a flood. By the time the 2026 midterms arrive Trump could be the most hated lame-duck president ever and will lead his MAGA party into oblivion.<\/p>\n

It can be done and it will be done — if we do not quit, if do not look away, if we keep the pressure unrelentingly on, and especially if we understand how important one person can be. Remember the ancient proverb:<\/p>\n

For lack of a nail the shoe was lost,<\/em>
\nFor lack of the shoe the horse was lost,<\/em>
\nFor lack of the horse the rider was lost,<\/em>
\nFor lack of the rider the battle was lost,<\/em>
\nFor lack of the battle the war was lost.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\ncurated by the folks at GrowPurpose.com<\/strong><\/p>\n