One Small Resistance Action Every Day

I have seen the term “5-alarm fire” used multiple times to describe the destruction the Trump administration and Musk’s DOGE are wreaking against the U.S. Constitution and democracy. I’ve used the term myself, in fact.

At this point, with the administration imprisoning immigrants and visitors from other countries with little to no evidence against them, forcing giant law firms and universities to capitulate to Trump’s whims, attacking organizations that promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, RIF-ing (Reduction in Force) thousands of federal workers and shuttering many government programs, departments, and buildings, allowing the insecure access of Americans’ personal information by DOGE, and imminently threatening to destroy Social Security, I’d say we are now at the point of a 10-alarm fire.

If we had a Congress and Supreme Court not packed by Republican extremists more interested in preserving their power or fearful of Trump’s wrath, Musk and his DOGE lackeys would already have been removed from the government’s computer systems and impeachment proceedings against Trump would have begun again.

That’s not the situation we find ourselves in, however. It’s up to everyday Americans to screw up our courage and protest, protest, PROTEST this coup against the country. Protesting in the streets is effective, both in showing politicians that we are angry and in demonstrating courage to our fellow citizens. If you watch the French, as soon as the government pisses off the people, they are shutting down society until the government fixes things.

We need that level of visible anger, and we are getting there. Protests through Indivisible, 50501, the Tesla Takedown, the Women’s March, and other organizations are growing. There will be a nationwide protest called People’s Veto Day on April 5, 2025.

For more on the power of collective action, read:

Harnessing Collective Power to Overcome Trump’s Fear Tactics from FrameLab

Can nonviolent struggle defeat a dictator? This database emphatically says yes from Waging Nonviolence

You can also take inspiration by (re)watching the movie “A Bug’s Life.”

Protesting in the streets isn’t the only way to resist the coup. Calling or writing your representatives and giving them a piece of your mind helps, as do economic boycotts. (Tesla’s stock is dropping precipitously because people have organized against the company since Musk’s takeover of government computer systems. Let’s keep that up.)

Since the early days of the second Trump administration (only 2 short but eternal months ago), I have been trying to take one small resistance action every day. These include the following:

• Making numerous calls to my Congressional representatives using the 5 Calls app.
• Writing to my Congressional representatives using Democracy.io.
• Making donations to Signal, the Internet Archive, and Wikipedia. (We need services that provide access to information and private communications.)
• Making a donation to the Ukraine government toward the country’s defense. (Trump and Vance’s treatment of President Zelenskyy was despicable.)
• Writing blog posts (like this one), and posts on Mastodon and LinkedIn, providing information on resisting.
• Using the library. (Your use of the library shows government officials their funding is needed.)
• Assisting a federal government worker who was RIF-ed.
• Talking with family and friends about what Trump, Musk, and their lackeys have been doing.

Here are a few articles with more ideas on ways to take action:

Underrated ways to change the world from Experimental History

What To Do When There Is Nothing To Be Done from America 2.0

I’ve read numerous times that when resisting an authoritarian takeover, it’s important to take breaks to recuperate. This has been necessary for me or I slip into a panic and can’t figure out what to do next. Once I’ve rested, I can figure out my next small action.

Bit by bit, as each of us engages in our resistance activities, we’ll hopefully find a way to drive Trump out of office and Musk out of our federal computer systems. (The guy doesn’t pay taxes, so they sure as hell aren’t his systems for the taking.)

What acts of resistance are you taking? Let me know in the comments. Let’s share our courage … it’s infectious!