We’re almost a week into the new administration, and it is as bad as advertised. We’ve been hit with a barrage of executive orders, threats, and outrageous actions. The first of their grossly incompetent cabinet members have just been confirmed. It is natural to feel hopeless and powerless in the face of this. This is exactly what they want you to do. Their strategy is to overwhelm you until you feel too much despair to resist.
We are not powerless. There are things we can do. And even the smallest things can make a big difference. Here are some ways we can fight back.
Protect yourself
- Take care of your mental health. Turn off the news from time to time and allow yourself to disassociate for a while. Spend time in nature. Have fun with your family. Do things you enjoy. Your mind will be clearer and more capable of taking action if you don’t wallow in the doom.
- Don’t react to every outrageous statement. The hamster wheel of outrage was used last time to distract us from important issues. Pay attention to the administration’s actions, not their words.
- Work on your physical health. Get to a healthy weight. Reduce or stop unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking. Exercise regularly. Get regular dental cleanings. Bring your vaccines up to date. Getting sick will become a lot more expensive and dangerous, so do everything you can to stay well.
- If you have a uterus capable of bearing children, get an IUD that lasts for at least five years. Stock up on Plan B pills, if available. Don’t use ovulation tracking apps. If you plan to get pregnant, find out what services you can get in your area if you have a miscarriage or other emergency. Consider moving to a safer area or state if you plan to have children.
- Know your rights, especially when it comes to freedom of speech, assembly, and religion (First Amendment), freedom from illegal search and seizure (Fourth Amendment), right to due process and protection from self-incrimination (Fifth Amendment), citizenship rights (Fourteenth Amendment), and voting rights (Fourteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments).
- If you don’t have a lawyer, get in touch with your local legal aid department. Keep your legal representative’s information with you.
- Put together all your documents in a safe place. This includes birth certificates, naturalization records, military service and discharge records, and other paperwork you need to verify your citizenship status.
- If you are transgender or nonbinary, stockpile any gender-affirming medication you need, if possible. Make sure all of your identification has been updated to show your name and gender. Move to a safe state or country when you can.
Protect others
- Reach out to your friends in marginalized communities, especially transgender people and recent immigrants. They are feeling it the worst right now.
- Get to know your neighbors, including the ones who voted for him. Be friendly, meet the families, and get familiar with their routines. That way, you’ll know when something suspicious or threatening is coming.
- If you see someone being harassed, use the 5D method to intervene safely: distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct.
- Print out red cards that give instructions to immigrants and other targeted communities in their languages about their rights. They can hand them to agents and law enforcement if questioned or detained. You can find printable red cards at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Protect democracy
- Get your news from multiple sources, primarily independent non-profit media (like AP News) and international media (like BBC News). Assume the major US news outlets (even CNN and MSNBC) have been compromised and push pro-administration propaganda. Fact check everything.
- Learn the code words and emojis used to discuss important issues on social media. These change often.
- Do business with companies that support democracy and marginalized communities. Don’t patronize businesses that side with the oligarchs, exploit workers, use unfair business practices, and loudly and proudly cancel DEI and Pride Month programs. Remember this slogan from the Civil Rights movement, “Don’t buy where you (or your friends and family) can’t work.”
- Build a library of physical books, especially history, science, medicine, religions other than evangelical Protestantism, fiction by authors of color and those from the LGBTQ+ community, and frequently banned children’s books.
- Donate to organizations that protect civil rights, the environment, and democracy.
- Volunteer in community organizations, especially youth services, food banks, and counseling centers. These services are the first to be hit by government cutbacks and the ones needed most in a crisis.
- Write to your elected officials about issues that concern you. Even if they are deeply in the tank for a political ideology or special interests, they still should know how their constituents feel. And if enough constituents speak up, they may reconsider their positions.
- Support pro-democracy candidates. Donate to their campaigns and find ways to volunteer.
Prepare for the worst
- Get your finances in order. Pay down your debts. Save as much as you can. Avoid unnecessary expenses. Keep emergency cash on hand.
- Learn first aid and basic home repairs.
- Stock up on food, medicine, water, batteries, face masks, menstruation products, and toilet paper in case of emergency. (Always a good idea in case of a natural disaster or another pandemic.)
- Start a vegetable garden either at home or in your community. Even a window sill planter enables you to grow herbs.
- Know evacuation routes. Keep your vehicle fueled or charged. Have a go bag ready.
- Reduce your digital footprint. Turn off tracking on your phone. Make purchases in cash, especially for items like books and birth control products.
- Learn the art of malicious compliance. If you are forced to do something that goes against your oath, professional standards, or conscience, do it as slowly, inefficiently, and with as many bureaucratic roadblocks as possible. Stalling for time can save people’s lives.
- Keep a journal. Write down everything that happens, including names, addresses, dates, and times. This can be a valuable testimony for future generations, and it can resist efforts to whitewash this moment in history.
There are many other things you can do to protect yourself, others, democracy, and the values we as Americans hold dear. None of these require lots of money, political power, and physical strength. You don’t need to stockpile a massive arsenal. What we need is courage and a moral conviction that can withstand the pressure to give up and comply. History isn’t made by great men doing great things at great events. It is made by ordinary people who are willing to do extraordinary things in the name of decency and humanity. You are not powerless. You can do it. We all can.
