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Eve of Destruction Week One

Writer's picture: Jacob KravetzJacob Kravetz

 


The last week – has it really only been a week? – of the second Trump Administration, has provided a clear reminder that intellectually knowing and preparing for something is a deeply different process from living it.


We knew that Trump and his administration would be pursuing a deeply anti-democratic set of policies and attempting to dismantle the norms and safeguards of the federal government. We saw it during his first term, and we knew it during his campaign from leaked documents like Project 2025, and the people Trump surrounded himself with. All these pieces of evidence suggested a profoundly​ unpopular and anti-democratic agenda was in store.


That this is exactly what has been playing out, has somehow made it no less shocking, horrifying and demoralizing. Attacks against Birthright Citizenship; pausing all activities at the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation; large-scale public, and often indiscriminate deportations; suggesting dismantling FEMA amidst ongoing natural disasters, pushing the bounds and norms of laws and traditions at every turn. This is but a smidgen of the veritable Blitzkrieg of activity unleashed by these reactionary right-wingers.


The mask has come off so quickly it’s been stupefying. We’ve seen Republicans falling in line behind Nazi salutes, cruel barbarism, and subjecting career civil servants to open loyalty tests.  We are living through exactly what we feared and it is frankly shocking and a tough pill to swallow. We could spend a large amount of time going over the myriad of executive orders and policy choices that Donald Trump and his goons have already implemented, however, other institutions are far better equipped for such a task.


Our job as political stonecutters, as members and followers of Don't Shop on Tuesday, and believers in democratic norms is to weather this initial blistering onslaught meant to overwhelm and depress us. We must stand fast and not give up hope. We need to join local groups and create bonds between others, build organizing efforts on common causes and develop alternative sources of power to fight those which these repressive regimes claim authority.


We must organize and build power, both politically and economically, to strike at both levers of the power system in order to wrest control of our government from the oligarchic forces currently in charge. They have seized control and are currently deconstructing government to further aid in these undemocratic ends. This will be a long battle, for we are starting deep in the hole, but it is not a hopeless fight. These policies are indeed horrifying and unpopular, and if we stand firm and organize, if we build common empathy, common cause, and common power, we can get back our government, and we can break the hold of billionaire money in politics!


So join us each Tuesday in growing solidarity, this is only the first week in what’s going to be a very long ride. Buckle up and get ready for the fight, resist however you can and then Don't Shop on Tuesday. 



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