The Trump administration is moving quickly to dismantle the United States government, unrestrained by law or morality, posing a threat to our democracy. What can an individual do in response? I am sure that there are many responses. Here are a few. Let me know what you think.
- Stay informed. It’s hard with an outrage a minute, and it’s tempting just to turn it all off. Avoid doom-scrolling, but it’s important to be aware of how Trump is hurting the American people. In addition to your regular news sources, here’s a good tracking site, https://www.democracy2025.org/.
- Share your views. Only the people can save our republic. That means you, your friends, your relatives, and the people you speak with. Spread the word about the real effects of Trump/Musk actions and how they will affect their cost of living, employment, civil rights, health care, and education.
- Support Federal workers (and state and local workers as the defunding trickles down). Reach out to your friends who are under attack. Share resources, including this page from Congressman Connolly – https://connolly.house.gov/constituent-services/resources-for-federal-workers.htm
- Support other people under attack. It’s a long list and growing longer, and others may have better contacts, but here are some. For immigrants – https://immigrantjustice.org/how-help. Women – https://nwlc.org/. LGBTQ+ people – https://www.hrc.org/resources. I am sure that there are many more.
- Use all media. I quit twitter when Elon went full Nazi, but Facebook is useful and Bluesky could be. There are a lot of other platforms people use – other social media, gaming sites, podcasts. Reach out and tell people that it doesn’t have to be this way and they can be part of the solution.
- Write a letter to the editor. Writing such letter used to be a common practice when we had more newspapers and the ones we had didn’t suck, but like I said, use all media including local papers and neighborhood publications.
- Take to the streets. The 2017 Women’s March was a memorable event, but it seems harder to get direct action going this time. Trump needs to know that the American people at his front door don’t support his actions. National groups organizing protests include 50501, https://www.fiftyfifty.one/ (although it should be 51511), and Indivisible, https://indivisible.org/. Take along some pro-Democrat signs to help support actions Democrats stand for.
- Make sure you are registered to vote and help other people register. Trump and the GOP want to turn the clock back and make it much harder to vote. The mid-terms offer the best opportunity to turn back the attack on democracy, but people need to be able to vote. Check out iwillvote.com for info on every state.
- Protect the vote. Litigation and other activities to protect Americans’ right to vote continues all over the nation. You can keep track with Mark Elias’ Democracy Docket – https://www.democracydocket.com/. Even better, you can volunteer to help protect the vote with the Democratic National Committee, https://democrats.org/civic-engagement-and-voter-protection/.
- Elect Democrats in 2025. This year’s elections – especially in Virginia – are important both for the people represented and as a referendum on the Trump presidency, Help by contributing time or money – here’s the link to the Virginia Democratic Party – https://vademocrats.org/. Also, a critical Wisconsin Supreme Court race is coming up in April – see https://wisdems.org/.
- Get involved in local politics. Trump claims he wants to send authority back to the states – this makes involvement with state and local government (including school boards) more important than ever. So get engaged, follow government activities, attend meetings, support candidates, run for office.
- Elect Democrats in 2026. The midterms, assuming we have free and fair elections, will give Americans the opportunity to elect a Congress that will stand up to Trump. Support your local Congressional candidates and candidates from swing states/districts that will make the difference.
- Contact your congressperson. Write, call, or talk to them. If they are a Democrat fighting back, like Congressman Jamie Raskin, tell them they are doing a good job. If they are a Democrat not fighting back, urge them to do so. If they are a Republican (and this is everyone one of them) tell them to grow a spine, stand up to Trump, and fight for the America they claim to love. https://www.congress.gov/contact-us.
- Give money. Winning requires the right message and the ability to get that message through to the American people. All of this requires money. A good place to start is the Democratic National Committee, https://democrats.org/. Organizations litigating against the coup also deserve support, e.g., Democracy Forward, https://democracyforward.org/, and the Democratic Attorneys General Association, https://dems.ag/. And don’t forget state and local causes and candidates.
- Check other lists. There are a lot of groups organizing to fight Trump initiatives – see, e.g., https://americansofconscience.com/.
- Take care of yourself. This is a traumatic period – many of us saw Trump’s attack on democracy and our government coming, but that doesn’t make it easier to take. Do things that make you happy,