Resources for the Resistance

Wow, it’s been a helluva six weeks, hasn’t it?

Elon Musk and Donald Trump, along with their enablers, are shredding U.S. democracy and the federal government at a pace so rapid it makes my head spin. I thought there were more safeguards in place, what with the whole three-branches-of-government-separation-of-powers thing.

But, the Framers of the Constitution apparently didn’t foresee one political party acting in bad faith (gerrymandering, preventing people from voting, stacking the Supreme Court, etc.) to get hold of all three branches coupled with a worldwide, addictive, conspiracy-ridden, pro-authoritarian, propaganda machine that hoodwinked about a third of us. (Yes, I’m talking about the internet and social media.)

Nor did they foresee the interconnected web of computers underpinning our government, or that one unelected billionaire Tech Bro would be allowed full access and control of that system. The separation of those systems by department and personnel … called ‘separation of duties’ in the tech world … was a safety feature, not an inefficiency, as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would have us believe.

Just as a reminder, DOGE is not a real government department. It’s a vehicle by which Trump and Musk can seize full control of the federal bureaucracy so they can divert tax money to themselves and turn U.S. democracy into an oligarchy (or, perhaps, a kakistocratic plutocracy). (It’s a coup, people.)

The destruction that has already occurred in terms of federal workers fired, programs slashed, and offices closed in six weeks is too much to recount in this blog post. With each cut, I want to scream, “NOOOOOO!!!”

It’s going to take us a long time to rebuild our democracy and these systems, but first we have to prevent as much damage as possible.

To do this, we need to stay informed and work in a unified way by protesting, contacting our elected representatives, speaking up about the damage these cuts are doing, and engaging in other acts of nonviolent resistance.

The intent of Trump, Musk, and their Republican enablers is to overwhelm us so we tune out. While we need to take regular breaks from the news in order to recharge, we must stay engaged. There are several resources available that can keep us informed while minimizing the overwhelm.

Here is my list of Resources for the Resistance.

Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson. Heather has been writing this Substack newsletter since the first Trump administration, and I’ve been reading almost from the beginning. She is a historian who calmly explains what is happening in today’s political news and ties it to similar activities in American history.

Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Craven. I came across this Substack newsletter just recently. It provides actions you can take to resist the Trump administration’s destruction. Jessica also lets readers know when resistance efforts have had a positive effect, so this is a hopeful newsletter.

Today’s Edition Newsletter by Robert B. Hubbell. Another Substack newsletter that is billed as “A reflection on today’s news through the lens of hope,” which is a very good description. Robert seems to be a friend of Jessica (mentioned above) because they have appeared at resistance events together and periodically mention each other in their newsletters.

Next Comes What podcast by Andrea Pitzer. This is another recent resource for me. You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as on YouTube. Andrea wrote a book on the global history of concentration camps (One Long Night), which gives her a unique perspective on authoritarian regimes’ tactic of demonizing and dehumanizing groups of people.

5 Calls is an app that makes it easy to contact your elected representatives. It provides you with a summary of various current issues, the list of representatives to contact and their phone numbers, as well as a script you can use. I do suggest personalizing the script before calling, so that your message stands out in terms of how the issue affects you. If you are nervous about talking to a staff member, call after hours and leave a message. Just make sure you make it short and to the point or your message will be cut off.

Signal texting app. I mentioned getting Signal, an encrypted texting app, in my post Diving Deep on the Opt Out Cyber-Cleanse back in January. This app allows you to text privately with others using the app. You can also make phone calls with it. Regular SMS texting apps are insecure open books to phone companies, who can be subpoenaed to provide your texts to law enforcement. If you want to plan resistance activities, you need a way to do it privately. Signal provides that, allowing you to set up disappearing texts.

10 Things We Can All Do to Protect Democracy by Marc Elias of Democracy Docket. Marc Elias is an American attorney who has litigated and won cases filed by Trump, who was contesting the 2020 presidential election results. There’s good stuff on his list.

ACLU – Know Your Rights. When we are unaware of our rights, we can unwittingly give them up. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a variety of Know Your Rights guides that are clear and concise.

I’m going to put a pin in this post with a photo of a pin. 🙂

During the first Trump administration, I picked up a couple of small pins that say “RESIST.” These have been on my winter coats since because the forces that are intent on destroying U.S. democracy have been active this entire time, though we got a welcome reprieve under President Joe Biden. These buttons are my reminder to keep fighting for democracy.

What resistance resources are you turning to? What’s giving you the strength and courage to fight for democracy in the U.S.?