Every week, you'll get simple, doable steps we can take to save our democracy even when we're busy and overwhelmed by the firehose of bad news.
Wish you could do more to save democracy? Here's a simple hack
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:: Only got 5 minutes? Even if all you do is #1 under "Do this + feel better" below, you'll be doing your part to protect our democracy. 🙏 :: Every time I hear about a book that sounds like it could provide some guidance and solace for me in this fraught moment we're living through, I put it on hold at the library. But here's the problem. When I pick up my library holds on the weekend, I'm excited to see what's ready for me, and I can't wait to get home and dig into it. And yet, by the time I get home, my mind is already distracted by the 572 other things on my to-do list. So I drop the book on my nightstand, intending to circle back when I have more time. But that magical moment never comes, and after three weeks, the book goes back to the library, untouched. 🫣 What does this have to do with you? We're all trying to fit in this "save democracy" business on top of our regular daily responsibilities, like work, parenting, school, and more. At some point since January 20, you've probably thought of something you want to do to help—like make daily calls to your reps or organize a group of friends to go to a rally. But because community organizing isn't your day job, it's hard to make happen. Maybe your actions have fallen short of your intentions. And so on top of feeling fear and anxiety about what's happening to our democracy, now you feel guilty for not doing what you told yourself you would. 💔 Here's a quick fix that can help. Years ago for my day job, I learned about something called an action trigger. When you're trying to establish a habit, action triggers are pure gold because they help you preload the decision to do something. In other words, you don't have to figure out how to fit this new activity into your busy day because you've already figured that out ahead of time. Last weekend, as I made my bed, I bumped into the growing stack of nonfiction books on my nightstand, and the whole stack toppled to the floor. But as I restacked the precarious pile, I thought, "Duh. Why don't I use an action trigger?" So I did, and it worked. 💃🏼 A few examples for you...
The action trigger that worked for me? After I make my first cup of coffee, I'll grab a nonfiction book and spend 10 minutes reading. 🤓 How to set your own action trigger:
If you've thought of something you want to do to help but haven't made it happen consistently yet, try an action trigger. ✅ Remember: Every tiny step adds up. And when we take those tiny steps together, we reclaim our power. Because this democracy belongs to us, not the billionaires and bullies. What's insideInside our latest update, you'll find these sections:
Do this + feel betterHere are 3 things you can do right now. As a bonus, taking any action (even if it's tiny!) will help dispel feelings of hopelessness and overwhelm... 1. Ask one person to join you on June 14On June 14—Flag Day—Trump wants to spend tens of millions on a military parade for his birthday, complete with tanks in the street and helicopters overhead. A parade worthy of a king. But in America, we don’t do kings. So next week on June 14, we’ll join together for No Kings, a nationwide day of defiance. 🇺🇸 We’ll reject authoritarianism by showing the world what democracy really looks like, from city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks. 👉 Find your closest event here, then invite one person to join you. A few ideas to get your gears turning:
Pro tip: Personalized one-on-one invitations are typically much more effective than group email blasts or social media posts. 💪 Take the time to reach out to your friend individually to invite them, and that'll make a bigger impression. Community orgs helping to make this happen include the ACLU, Common Cause, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, Interfaith Alliance, MomsRising, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Stand Up for Science, Third Act, Vote Save America, 50501, and lots more. This is all hands on deck! 2. Have fun this summerLibraries are—and will continue to be—a crucial resource in the fight to save our democracy. But our public libraries are under attack, facing slashed budgets, book bans, calls for privatization, and more. If we want to protect libraries and strengthen our democracy-saving efforts, we need to step up as library champions. One simple way to protect our libraries also happens to be fun. 🤩 👉 Join your library's summer reading challenge. You can stop by your library in person, look on their website, or make a quick phone call to ask how to participate. Here's why this is important: Libraries get funding based on how many people use their services and participate in their programming. More people participating makes it easier for libraries to get funding. ✅ What if your library doesn't have a summer reading challenge? Find another way to participate in their programming, like an upcoming event you can attend. Here are a few examples of some upcoming library events in my area, just to give you a feel for what you might find:
3. Learn from the expertsWe're living through a fascist power grab by a regime that wants to take away our freedoms, attack working people, and abduct our neighbors. This moment is overwhelming and scary, and it's normal for everyday folks like you and me to feel like there's nothing we can do to stop the train. But the experts who've studied similar moments in history say that we do have the power to stop our democracy from backsliding into authoritarianism. 👉 Tune in for this discussion with historian Heather Cox Richardson and political scientist Steven Levitsky to hear how we can prevent authoritarianism from taking root:
Get a shot of motivationA quote that resonated this week, emphasis mine: "It's...a failure to recognize the myriad faces of resistance, the quiet ones, the indirect ones, the spontaneous ones, the unseen ones that matter nevertheless. It's as if they decided resistance looks like a giraffe and so ignored that sometimes it's a zebra, a lion, a meerkat, a tortoise, a dragonfly, a murmuration—or the elephant in the room. Sometimes resistance is a protest in the streets, or a thousand of them. But sometimes it's a thousand forms of noncooperation and obstruction and countering the harm and rescuing those who are under attack...
So much around us tells us we have no power: how history is taught, how entertainment focuses on muscly ubermenches doing their violence rather than collective nonviolent action, how the news narrates our world as, again, an elite handful making all the decisions, holding all the power. But we have a lot of power, and one way you can see that is by noticing that those elites are actually afraid of us. Elon Musk found out that people have power when Tesla Takedown protests and other activism helped make the brand suddenly repulsive to buyers. Musk thereby found that he was in retail, where the customer is always right. I hope someday to see Musk and every member of DOGE on trial for their crimes against the government and people of the United States."
— Author, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit, in Notes on the Varieties of Resistance
Hey, look! We did thisHere's a quick run-down of what folks in our group have been doing to help lately:
Your turnWhat small actions have you taken lately? Please hit "reply" and let me know what you've been up to so we can celebrate with you. 🥳 Onward, Kelly p.s. If this message resonated with you, please consider becoming a sustaining member for $5 a month. You'll help cover the costs of our website and email list, plus you'll help us reach more people and spur them into taking meaningful action. 💞 |
Molly's Army
Every week, you'll get simple, doable steps we can take to save our democracy even when we're busy and overwhelmed by the firehose of bad news.