November 8, 2024

Civics

'The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.'

Daniel Hunter has been getting ready for this day. He's been writing scenarios about what might happen. He's been developing trainings for a Trump win. And he's been working alongside colleagues living under autocratic regimes. "One of the things they keep reminding me," he says,  "is that good psychology is good social change. Authoritarian power is derived from fear of repression, isolation from each other and exhaustion at the utter chaos. We’re already feeling it."

He says that for us to be of any use in a Trump world, we have to pay grave attention to our inner states, so we don’t perpetuate the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion or constant disorientation. This is a helpful primer that I'd hoped we would never need.

"3. Grieve

No matter what we try to do, there’s going to be a lot of loss. The human thing to do is grieve. ...If you aren’t a feelings person, let me say it this way: The inability to grieve is a strategic error. After Donald Trump won in 2016, we all saw colleagues who never grieved. They didn’t look into their feelings and the future — and as a result they remained in shock. For years they kept saying, 'I can’t believe he’s doing that…"

"...Believe it. Believe it now. Grief is a pathway to acceptance. "

ARTICLE: 10 Ways to Be Prepared and Grounded Now That Trump Has Won

Civics

A general blueprint for how any cooperative human group can function well

ARTICLE: Generalizing the Commons

Civics

Given libraries’ unique combination of broad accessibility, civic neutrality, and deep public trust, policymakers should embed them intentionally within health and social planning frameworks.

ARTICLE: How Public Libraries Help Build Healthy Communities

Civics

"Socialism has been as impossible to separate from the narrative of the nation’s history as the capitalist economy itself."

ESSAY: A Brief History of American Socialism

Civics

"Just keep moving forward, even if the steps are small.”

VIDEO: Kansas town goes green while rebuilding after devastating tornado.