A version of this appeared on Substack – both mine and Indivisible MHK’s — this past Wednesday.
I am tired. Very tired. The regime is setting fires faster than we can put them out. This, as we know, is by design. They seek to overwhelm. They want surrender.
But why should we give them what they want? They’re bullies, grifters, and sociopaths. They have not earned our respect and cannot command our obedience.
So, take heart and remember these ten things:
1: This is going to take a while. Take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself.
2: We cannot put out all the fires. We can only do what we can do.
3: Since (usually) we will not be rewarded by immediately visible results, we must instead focus on doing what is right for its own sake. And, motivated by that, we must keep doing what can.
4: Dream big. A time of collapse is also a time to imagine the world we want to live in, and to begin building that world. So, let’s draw up some plans.
5: Every human deserves healthcare, housing, food, water, education, leisure, sleep, dignity, and justice. We all deserve a society that supports the flourishing of the many — and not just the few.
6: Our anger is justified and we can channel that anger into activism. But activism motivated primarily by anger risks burning itself out. Love is a more sustainable, steady-burning fuel. Love of neighbor, of justice, of the country we are building together. Inasmuch as we can, let love lead the fight.
7: There is strength in numbers. There are more of us than there are of them. Because autocrats cannot create their deeply unpopular regimes democratically, they require autocracy to succeed. But they are few, and we are many.
8: There is strength in community. We have each other. We will do this together.
9: Over time, more and more of these arsonists will get burned by the fires they have set. They will weaken themselves.
10: Through the work we are doing now, we are preparing ourselves for that moment — when their fires consume them, and our growing movement steps in to begin rebuilding.
So. Rest. Resist. Rebuild. Repeat.
We can do this.
Thinking that our Indivisible group could use some encouragement, I wrote this in the DFW airport, late Tuesday night. I then posted it into our Signal group chat. Our leader asked if she could post it on Substack. I revised it on my next flight, and sent it to her. She made additional revisions and posted it the next morning. I’m sharing it here because my blog has been my primary platform for such messages — though maybe I will start using Substack more? I don’t know.
Anyway. I also write pieces like this because I need the encouragement. I am not naturally optimistic. So, I try to orient myself towards possibility. Such orientation helps me get more done, helps me keep going. Perhaps this will help you, too.