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Why taking action matters

We can’t guarantee that any particular action will help make things better, but we can pretty well guarantee that inaction will allow things to get worse.

As Illinois Governor Pritzker said: “It’s time to fight everywhere and all at once. Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now." (full speech on video below)

Here are some thoughtful perspectives on acting, from the experts:

The Four Es (immediately below): Great perspective from real experience elsewhere: "When I was working in places like Belarus, Burma, and Zimbabwe, I started to see patterns — in how successful pro-democracy movements took shape and what made them durable."

What opposition movements need — and what fear-based regimes fear most.
The Four Es: A Framework for Building Movements That Survive and Win
Substack
Part 2 - How We Navigate the Next 100 Days
So what do we make of all of this?
Sherrilyn’s NewsletterSherrilyn Ifill
Twenty Lessons, read by John Lithgow
Key selections from On Tyranny, for viewing and sharing
Thinking about...Timothy Snyder

Heather Cox Richardson is the best, and Santa Fe's own Inez Russell Gomez got HCR's best in this quick-moving 30 minute podcast:

‘Conversations Different’: Heather Cox Richardson discusses the Trump presidency and American democracy ahead of Santa Fe visit
The author and historian is scheduled to speak at this week’s Santa Fe International Literary Festival.
Santa Fe New MexicanThe New Mexican
Fighting Back: A Citizen’s Guide to Resistance
Ordinary people have more power than they know.
The New RepublicTimothy Noah
15 Ways You Can Fight for Democracy
Every day, hundreds of family members, friends, and Contrarian readers reach out to ask what they can do to stop Trump and turn the tide against autocracy. We can help
The ContrarianThe Contrarian
Anti-Trump protesters in the US might look to the Czech Republic: ‘We are an example’
Massive, sustained protests led to the 2021 downfall of billionaire oligarch Andrej Babiš, dubbed ‘the Czech Trump’
The GuardianRobert Tait

Historian Heather Cox Richardson interviews Maine Independent US Senator Angus King about threats to Constitution - and how Senators view messages from constituents at times like this

The Rev William Barber’s ‘moral movement’ confronts Trump’s America. Can it work?
In weekly nonviolent protests that channel the civil rights tradition, the faithful rally to end poverty and injustice
The GuardianAdam Harris