Dear Members of the MWR community:
This is our last newsletter for the foreseeable future. Donald Trump’s second inauguration is a seminal moment in US history and a good moment to step back and evaluate where we are and how we got here. For us it is a time for reflection and a change in our approach to politics and activism.
Politically, our ideas about effective community and political action are in need of serious rethinking in light of the new political realities. America under Trump II will be a very different place than it has been during the past 8+ years. We are not surrendering, just spending more time on analysis and redirecting our efforts towards things we believe we can contribute effectively to.
In the early days of My Weekly Resistance, when we really did put out a weekly edition, we devoted inordinate numbers of hours to obsessively following the news and trying to find meaningful actions to share with you. And we think we collectively made a difference. (During those years we did help save Obamacare, and elect Joe Biden and a Democratic Congress in 2020). The political winds were at our backs and writing letters and reaching out to elected officials seemed like the right thing to do.
In 2025 our nation is in a different phase of the cycle of progressive change followed by reactionary backlash. At the Federal level we see little reason to believe that the strategies that were meaningful in 2017 and 2018 would make a real difference now. We do not despair, and we are not giving up, but we are each taking a different path.
Here are the strategies we are working with:
Live your life fully. Take care of your body, your mind and your spirit and devote as much time as you can to what inspires awe and gives you joy. Do not let the tempests stirred up by the new administration hi-jack the next few years.
Don’t join in the circular firing squad. During 2024 we gave it the best we had with a mediocre hand. Getting angry at other progressives and moderate allies won’t help anyone figure out what needs to be done next.
You don’t have to check the news more than once a day. Really! And you can just scan the headlines to stay in touch with what’s happening. Stay away from media that analyzes the cause of our loss. There are 100 causes for the defeat and many bright spots that make poor copy. These articles, podcasts and shows are just filling an empty news hole. No one knows enough right now. More importantly the shape of resistance will be continually changing.
Donate what you can to national advocacy organizations who have strong track records and the legal expertise to slow down the right-wing juggernaut. Until we get a new Congress followed by a new administration, these are the folks with the ability to put spanners in the works of the Trump II presidency. We are recommending one organization in each issue category, but feel free to substitute another such organization that you prefer.
Abortion rights:
Reproductive Rights for All is the new name for National Abortion Rights Action League, the longstanding network for all those supporting women’s right to control their bodies.
Environment/Climate Change:
National Resources Defense Council has an impressive record of winning legal battles with industry and government.
Immigration Rights:
The ACLU Immigration Rights Project has a deep bench of experienced litigators in this arena and we will definitely need them.
Investigative, non-partisan journalism:
ProPublica collaborates with legacy media for in-depth investigations into corruption, conflict of interest, and outright lying.
Wikipedia provides fact checked information to huge swaths of the American public. You can support it via WikimediaFoundation.org
These daily blogs will do some of the work of following the news for you:
Heather Cox Richardson also provides important historical perspective on American politics
Tangle is a new small scale effort to try to find middle ground between left and right. Take a look.
Community Organizing
The Movement Voter Project embeds registering voters with on-the-ground local organizing efforts related to housing, schools, health care, environmental protection, voting rights and more.
Democracy Forward is a new coalition of over 300 progressive organizations supported by litigators committed to legal action to disrupt the work of the new administration. Consider if you or your organization might want to join them.
Allocating some of your activism budgets for state level organizations where you live. An example from Colorado is Cobalt Abortion Fund which subsidizes women who need to cross state lines to get the abortion services they need.
Find something that is the change you want to see in your immediate community that needs tending. Water it with your time and attention. It may be in the arts, it may literally be a garden, it may be mentoring youth or befriending older folks. It may be running for the Library Commission or your local school board. Find that place where your interests/talents/passions meet what needs doing in the world right around you. A friend has committed to “building community” every day in ways that only she knows how to do.
For those who want a more “activist” approach to the next two years, here is a link to the Indivisible Guide to our current political situation. They have big ideas and networks you can connect with.
There will be another election! Unless you are thinking of running for office yourself, take a break from the horserace of electoral politics until this time next year.
If the revolution comes, you will hear about it without doom scrolling the news. We have no idea if or when that might happen, but we are confident that there will be enough ferment and organization to engage us in the next meaningful fight.
And finally, a parable worth considering:
A farmer and his son had a beloved horse who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild horses back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see”
Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to tame one of the horses and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The neighbors cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, because he had a broken leg. The neighbors shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”