Action absorbs anxiety. We've heard this regularly. Add to that: community calms crisis. Towards that end, I'm holding an event on how to write effective letters to the editor or social media posts - and will provide light snacks. We'll write, eat, chat - and by the end of 90 minutes, have letters and posts to submit as well as a stronger feeling of identity as an activist amongst friends.
George Lakoff's Substack is helpful: The Frame Lab. Dan Pfeiffer's messaging on Substack is also helpful: The Message Box. And I encourage writers to keep their letters short (4-5 sentences). Tight punchy sentences are more easily read and absorbed than long meanderings.
Karin, what do you think of the actions that are advocated by Indivisible right now: calling your reps and better yet, organizing in-person visitors to Senators' offices to push the Democratic senators to use more of their powers to slow things down in the Senate, especially around the nomination of the OMB director -- and also protest the takeover of the payment system by Musk's minions? I think think it's time to rise to that level of protest, at the very least.
Hi Raymond! Great question. We discussed this at the Smart Politics meeting last night. Unless you have an unusual amount of political power (for example, you're a big donor, a nationally recognized expert on authoritarianism, a leader of a prominent political group/organization, or a famous influencer), the actions you describe will have little marginal benefit. Our leaders in Congress are actively trying to figure out what to do. Their failure to stop Trump and Musk isn't because they don't care but because they haven't agreed on a strategy they believe will work. Us exhorting them to do a better job won't change that.
Instead, we should focus on the people in our lives over whom we DO have significant influence. This means talking with friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers about what's happening in our country. We should also work with local government officials to insulate our communities from the most dangerous of Trump's executive orders and likely future actions.
If you really want to put pressure on Congress, forget about Democratic elected officials. Find Republican voters who live in red communities and talk with them about what Trump is doing. Don't make them feel bad about voting for him. Just find out if they agree or disagree with what's happening. If they disagree, let them know it's not too late for them to influence their reps. Dems calling Dems to complain is useless, but Reps calling Reps to complain is gold.
Thanks for your reply, Karin. Definitely a fundamental different perspective than Indivisible, which I then to respect and follow. And I also respect your work -- so I have things to weigh.
Indivisible has done a lot of good work, so I don't want to dismiss their perspective out of hand. That said, when all you have is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail. Indivisible was built for a very different political landscape than we're confronting today.
Action absorbs anxiety. We've heard this regularly. Add to that: community calms crisis. Towards that end, I'm holding an event on how to write effective letters to the editor or social media posts - and will provide light snacks. We'll write, eat, chat - and by the end of 90 minutes, have letters and posts to submit as well as a stronger feeling of identity as an activist amongst friends.
Great idea! Can you recommend resources so others can do this in their own communities?
George Lakoff's Substack is helpful: The Frame Lab. Dan Pfeiffer's messaging on Substack is also helpful: The Message Box. And I encourage writers to keep their letters short (4-5 sentences). Tight punchy sentences are more easily read and absorbed than long meanderings.
Thank you Karin for helping us stay focused to our values during this time of chaos!
So much wisdom in this post!
Karin, what do you think of the actions that are advocated by Indivisible right now: calling your reps and better yet, organizing in-person visitors to Senators' offices to push the Democratic senators to use more of their powers to slow things down in the Senate, especially around the nomination of the OMB director -- and also protest the takeover of the payment system by Musk's minions? I think think it's time to rise to that level of protest, at the very least.
Hi Raymond! Great question. We discussed this at the Smart Politics meeting last night. Unless you have an unusual amount of political power (for example, you're a big donor, a nationally recognized expert on authoritarianism, a leader of a prominent political group/organization, or a famous influencer), the actions you describe will have little marginal benefit. Our leaders in Congress are actively trying to figure out what to do. Their failure to stop Trump and Musk isn't because they don't care but because they haven't agreed on a strategy they believe will work. Us exhorting them to do a better job won't change that.
Instead, we should focus on the people in our lives over whom we DO have significant influence. This means talking with friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers about what's happening in our country. We should also work with local government officials to insulate our communities from the most dangerous of Trump's executive orders and likely future actions.
If you really want to put pressure on Congress, forget about Democratic elected officials. Find Republican voters who live in red communities and talk with them about what Trump is doing. Don't make them feel bad about voting for him. Just find out if they agree or disagree with what's happening. If they disagree, let them know it's not too late for them to influence their reps. Dems calling Dems to complain is useless, but Reps calling Reps to complain is gold.
For a good source on this, I recommend Politics Is for Power by Eitan Hersh. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Politics-Is-for-Power/Eitan-Hersh/9781982116798
Thanks for your reply, Karin. Definitely a fundamental different perspective than Indivisible, which I then to respect and follow. And I also respect your work -- so I have things to weigh.
Indivisible has done a lot of good work, so I don't want to dismiss their perspective out of hand. That said, when all you have is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail. Indivisible was built for a very different political landscape than we're confronting today.