Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” But what if someone doesn’t show you their true selves? Or they turn out to be different from what they claim to be? The media outlets who declared themselves defenders of the truth became purveyors of disinformation. Media personalities who attacked Trump every morning for months were the first to go to Mar A Lago to kiss the ring (and I don’t mean the one on the finger). Full-chested defenses of democracy turned into cowardly silence in the face of oligarchy.

I admit my first reaction to the election was also retreat. As time has gone on, I came to a realization: I might as well be myself.

The worst people in the world—the hateful, the greedy, the cruel—have no problem showing who they are. They elected people who gave them freedom to be their most awful selves. But those of us who are humane, we always feel like we must hide away. We bought into the belief that compassion is a weakness, courtesy is effete, and kindness makes us an easy target. It’s easier to fall into the nasty zeitgeist. If they curse at you, you curse them back.

It’s more revolutionary to stay true to who you are. Remain as decent as you’ve always been. Continue to express the views you’ve always had, even if you need to be more careful of how you express them. In a world that demands you to be hateful or to look away from cruelty, compassion is a powerful form of resistance.

I also might as well be myself because embracing the new regime offers no protection. I know everyone’s sick of comparisons between 1930s Germany and 2020s America, but I need to tell you about a group called the Verband nationaldeutscher Juden. Yes, there was a group of Jews who supported Hitler as he rose to power. He inevitably turned on them. It’s a lesson for everyone who votes for the leopards and are surprised when they eat their faces.

So, I’m going to keep writing. I’m going to find a publishing home for Christina’s Portrait, even if it takes until the bad guys leave before it can be published. But mostly, I’m going to live my life. I have my own Project 2025. It includes watching my granddaughter get promoted from elementary to intermediate school, celebrate my wife’s big divisible-by-0 birthday and our divisible-by-5 wedding anniversary, and support our children as they accomplish great things in their lives. And whatever the billionaires throw at us, we’ll adapt and endure.

I hope that being myself will encourage others to do the same. When too many give into cowardice and complicity, living authentically gives us strength. By speaking up, we give others a voice. I know it’s easy to say this before the regime has seized control. But making the commitment now will help us build strength for when the worst of it comes.

As the quote says, 2024 showed the true colors of the people around us. In 2025, we need to show the truth of who we are, to stand up for what we know is right, and to live our lives authentically and fearlessly.