What will you do? And other essays
19 November 2024, updated 26 January 2025
These are three of my favorite essays from the past few weeks plus a letter to the Editor:
What will YOU do? Acknowledging what we are up against, by Robert Reich
If this were Germany in 1933, what actions would you take? How different will this be from Germany in 1933?
I put this question to some of you last Wednesday during my weekly Office Hours. Forty percent said your most important goal will be to protect those in harm’s way, and 34 percent said it will be to organize and mobilize politically. Of the remainder, 9 percent said it will be to resist with civil disobedience. (Others had additional or different ideas.)
Obviously, none of these alternatives is exclusive. We must consider all, and many others.
Protecting the vulnerable and preserving our rights and liberties will require a great deal of hard work by people who believe in our Constitution, democracy, and the rule of law.
Life in Activism: Eight Survival Tips for the First Year of Living in the Opposition. Above all else, don't be intimidated, by Chris Bowers
Accept that we lost
Realize that it was close
While there is a sense in much of the post-election discussion that 2024 was a big red wave, the truth is that it was a close election. Once all votes are counted, the final popular vote margin will be around 1.5%, and the final margins in the decisive swing states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will all be 2.2% or less. Kamala Harris will probably have a higher percentage of the popular vote than any losing candidate since Richard Nixon in 1960. Republicans will also only have a majority of between three and five seats in the House of Representatives. This narrow majority will make it very difficult to pass legislation, and nearly impossible to hold in 2026. While 2024 wasn't Gore vs Bush, it was still a close election by any historical standard.
Reserve judgment on why we lost
Remember that Democrats now hold most electoral advantages.
Get engaged in local, special, and off year elections
Learn about coming federal legislation and public policy
Take care of your body, clean your home, straighten out your finances
Don't be intimidated
Will you hurt or heal? Build or break down? By Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (email, partially quoted here)
What is important in moments like these is not to think in binaries. Good/bad, screwed/not screwed. There is no doubt that things are bad. Some things, really bad. And they may likely get worse.
But that does not preclude the fact that slowly but surely, some good can be growing as other things fall apart. This is not some syrupy sweet silver lining case for optimism. Rather, it is really about a choice all of us will have to make in life, either consciously or unconsciously: will I be a person who is safe and creates good for others?
Will I be a person who stands up? Will I be a person who primarily minds my business and serves myself or try to be part of something bigger? Or will I just be a passive, “neutral” observer of it all?
What I sometimes tell my staff is that the world we are fighting for is already here. It exists in small spaces, places, and communities. We don’t have to deal with the insurmountable burden of coming up with novel solutions to the world’s problems.
It is a common sentiment these days, but giving way to hopelessness ensures the triumph of cruelty and authoritarianism. We owe it to our more vulnerable fellow Americans to continue to fight for our democracy. Every day, civil servants trying to hold the line, judges committing to the rule of law and activists struggling on behalf of immigrants and other at-risk people will get up, do their work, and try to move the needle in the direction of justice, fairness and freedom. The least the rest of us can do is not surrender. No single person can fix everything, but there is something everyone can do, even if it is just buying one subscription to a quality local newspaper, writing one letter to a lawmaker, attending a school board meeting, volunteering in your community, or supporting a decent person’s candidacy for local, state or federal office.
Ordinary citizens can demonstrate opposition through their votes in off-year elections. They can peacefully protest, donate to groups that defend civil liberties, speak up for vulnerable people Trump targets and support independent, investigative journalism. State and local leaders must do everything in their power to defend their fellow Americans from federal government abuse and fill in the gaps when the federal government withdraws help (e.g., defending women’s reproductive rights).
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The index to my prior essays (mostly post 5 November 2024) is here.
I have another blog on Cancer and Medicine.
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Email me at Nat@PathologyOutlines.com.
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