I’ve been trying to keep these posts pretty politically neutral up until now. No matter who you voted for, we are all Americans, with our own idea of the country’s best interests at heart. We need each other far more than we need any particular president or form of government.
But the first week of the Trump administration has been so distressing that I now feel that I must speak my heart. If you voted for Trump, know that I do not see you as my enemy and you are welcome to continue reading these posts. Most of my proposed actions could apply to anybody. But, I do see President Trump as the enemy of every value that I hold most dear, and this post in particular will be targeted at resisting the actions of his administration.
To say that it’s been a bad week would be an understatement. The President and his senior advisers have attacked freedom of the press. An appalling inaugural address ended, in 16 minutes, the Pax Americana that has kept the world safe for over 7 decades. The President doubled down on his insistence that “torture works.” The infamous wall is now to be built and the President has feuded so angrily with the President of Mexico over who’spaying for it, that a planned visit has been cancelled. For 100 years, the USA has prospered partly because have friendly countries on our northern and southern borders. After only one week in office, Trump has reduced that by 50%.
And then came the ban on immigration – and even the return of Green Card holders – from certain Muslim-majority countries (interestingly, ONLY Muslim countries where our President doesn’t have business interests). We see the distress of separated families, and refugees who have already undergone extreme vetting are now sent back to danger and possible death.
But, we don’t despair. We act. We resist. Millions of women and men in cities all over the world participated in resistance marches on January 21. Hundreds protested at JFK and Dulles airports against the immigration ban and deportation. Here in Pittsburgh, we had a volunteer fair called Help or High Water a couple of weeks ago. On-line and in-person resistance communities are forming.
Your action for this week is to check out the 10 Actions in 100 Days website. The first action is to send postcards to your Senators, giving your views on the issues that are most important to you. If you have the equipment, you can print postcards right from your own printer. Or you can download the file and order postcards from Staples, with same-day pickup in most cases. Or print the Hear Our Voice logo and paste it on a plain post card. Or just send any old postcard. But do it. Take action. Then check the website in 10 days for your next action.
Here are some other sources of actions that you can take to resist the misguided agenda of this administration. Don’t despair. ACT. RESIST. History has its eyes on us.
Order the Countable app to make it easier to contact your Senators and Representative from your phone
Find a local group you can work with. I found mine by walking down my street and knocking on the door of a house with a big RESIST TRUMP sign in their window. Ask friends if they know of a group. Look for Facebook groups. Get support. We need each other.