Defying Gravity (part two)
“It’s time to discover what it takes to nourish the vein of tenacity that change requires as it reshapes the systems around us, and to face having to cultivate a future we did not seek or imagine.” —Sister Joan Chittister
“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out.” —Czech leader Vaclav Havel
***
By now you probably know that U.S. President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on July 4. The bill includes a temporary termination of taxes on tips and overtime for qualified workers. It also includes historic cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and other programs that serve low income, disabled, and other Americans. The bill will increase the country’s national debt by more than $3 billion by permanently extending 2017 tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
Regarding immigration, you may also know that according to the Cato Institute, as of June 14, 63% of those detained by ICE have no criminal convictions or pending charges. 93% have no violent convictions, at least not in the U.S. A growing number of detainees are in the country legally, as green card holders or asylum seekers. Some naturalized citizens have been threatened with denaturalization for expressing political views that don’t align with those held by the current administration. American born citizens, too, have been caught up in raids by ICE to meet aggressive detainment and deportation quotas.
So, there is little to suggest that the weeks, months, and years ahead will be any less dramatic or unprecedented than what we have experienced to date. In part one, I promised to offer ideas for loving ourselves, others, and the country well throughout the disruption. All are inspired by former President Teddy Roosevelt who said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Loving Ourselves Well
Pick Your Battles: I let lawyers defend our nation’s law firms and economists worry about tariffs and cryptocurrency. Constitutional scholars can review the dubious use of emergency powers and large, expensive gifts from foreign entities. Harvard can defend Harvard; Columbia can defend Columbia. I let the ethics experts examine conflicts of interest, pay-to-play schemes, and controversial pardons. I have neither the knowledge nor the experience to contribute much, if anything, of value to those conversations. That doesn’t mean I don’t care. I watch and listen carefully from afar, grateful for the expertise so many people have for the integrity and well-being of our nation.
Consider The Source: Does your news source, podcaster, favorite author, or other person of influence consistently present only one side of an issue? Do they frame it so one side always comes out looking better than the other? I’ve learned that when I mix up where I get my information, it’s easier to spot bias (in myself and others) and misinformation. That helps me make better-informed decisions about what I believe. An online search of the pros and cons of most issues is quick and easy. It also can help us discover why others may feel differently than we do—or even change our minds completely if we’re open to it. There’s also the All Sides website, which includes a Media Bias Chart that may be useful.
Read/Listen: I highly recommend The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon. It is filled with amazing stories of what everyday Americans have achieved in the face of daunting challenges and setbacks. If you prefer podcasts, listen to McMahon’s new series called “Resilience” on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting. I also suggest I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzmán. It’s a guide to more productive conversations with people with a broad range of political views. You might also buy or borrow copies of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to refresh your memory or read for the first time.
Write It Down: Record thoughts and feelings that make you feel vulnerable, encouraged, confused, hopeful, outraged—or all of these—on any given day. Journaling can help manage our mood and clarify our priorities and values. If it’s helpful, share one or more entries with a trusted partner, friend, relative, or therapist.
Shake It Off: As needed, I check out for a while by taking a walk, taking a bubble bath, or taking a friend to lunch. Anything that relaxes and renews our minds, bodies, and spirits, even temporarily, is key to hanging in there for the long haul. As author and film maker Michael Moore said in a 2017 Facebook post making its way anew around the Internet:
This morning, I have been pondering a nearly forgotten lesson I learned in high school music. Sometimes in band or choir, music requires players or singers to hold a note longer than they can actually hold a note. In those cases, we were taught to mindfully stagger when we took a breath, so the sound appeared uninterrupted. Everyone got to breathe, and the music stayed vibrant. Yesterday, I read an article that suggested the administration’s litany of bad executive orders…is a way of giving us “protest fatigue”—we will literally lose our will to continue the fight in the face of the onslaught of negative action. Let’s remember MUSIC. Take a breath. The rest of the chorus will sing. The rest of the band will play. Rejoin so others can breathe. Together we can sustain a very long, beautiful song for a very, very long time. You don’t have to do it all, but you must add your voice to the song….
Loving Others Well
Get Focused: I’m disturbed that the Trump administration abruptly paused or terminated the humanitarian programs under which more than 500,000 people in the country legally were suddenly declared illegal. All were vetted, none have criminal records, and most have dedicated sponsors (also vetted). Some, however, face torture or even death if they return to their home countries. Others face rape, kidnapping, or other forms of violence. I’m encouraged, however, by the recent report that the Haitian Evangelical Clergy Association recently won their case against Donald Trump. This means that Haiti’s TPS (Temporary Protection Status) designation remains in place at least until early next year. This morning, I learned that TPS protection will be extended to an additional 60,000 people from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Get Educated: I am grateful for the education and resources that groups such as Women of Welcome provide. Together with Be the Bridge, they created a guide called “Using Your Voice.” The guide helps people like me who need information and guidance to be an effective advocate for the human and legal rights of refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and migrants. If you are a person of faith, you can learn more about how immigration is viewed within Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Note: All emphasize welcoming the stranger/refugee/sojourner/traveler and treating them with respect.
Get Connected: Consider a donation of time, talent, or treasure (or all three!) to organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, World Relief, Casa de Paz, or other groups that protect the legal and humanitarian interests of many, including undocumented immigrants. Other organizations include The American Friends Service Committee and the National Immigrant Justice Center. Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest offers a nationwide pen-pal program with an immigrant in detention. Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) offers court observation training to better understand removal-hearings and instructions on witnessing or recording ICE arrests. Participants may also serve as messengers between detainees and their families.
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due: President Trump succeeded in getting American hostages Edan Alexander and Keith Siegel released from Gaza, much to the relief and joy of their families. In addition, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members have increased their defense spending budget, per prior agreements they had been slow to honor. Many European partners committed to additional support for Ukraine. Iran’s nuclear program was crippled by recent U.S. attacks, garnering rare bipartisan support domestically and around the world. Fox News challenged the accusation by U.S. Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s that President Obama was involved in a criminal conspiracy related to Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Congress restored $4 million in funding to PEPFAR, an emergency HIV/AIDS relief program. The revamped VA Home Loan Program Reform Act will prevent veteran home foreclosures.
Just Say No: Avoid language that fuels fear or directs anxious, vengeful thoughts and opinions toward those with whom we disagree. For inspiration, check out The Dignity Index, which scores words and phrases on an eight-point scale from contempt to dignity. As Episcopalian Bishop Maryann Budde said in a recent podcast interview on For the Love with Jen Hatmaker:
There’s plenty of room for anger, and there’s lots of reasons to be cynical. It takes no energy whatsoever. But to enter into the space honoring the dignity of other people, willing to listen to those who see the world differently and actually be curious about that; not establish hard lines of us and them. That’s not the only way—we need to have other tools in our repertoire. But I am going to lean heavily into this one and not assume that because I’m in conversation with someone who really sees the world differently that I need to cast that person as my enemy.
Share honorably: Verify the accuracy of the message before sharing it with others. If you’re like me, the more I want something to be true (or false), the more reluctant I am to take the time to ensure the information, quote, etc., has not been taken out of context, distorted, or completely made up.
Loving Our Country Well
Vote: 36% of eligible voters did not vote in the last presidential election. Mid-term elections often get an even less enthusiastic turnout. City, county, and state elections are as important as national ones—some would say more important. The indifference, including my own, makes it easy to pad the pipeline with candidates who may or may not represent our views, or even the views of their constituency overall. Your local League of Women Voters is an excellent resource for understanding where candidates stand on various issues. State and county websites provide good information, too. Most local librarians will happily help you find whatever you need.
Fly The Flag. Despite our country’s past, present, and future failures to fully embrace “liberty and justice for all,” the American flag symbolizes a freedom and self-determination that much of the world has never known. I confess to feeling ambivalent about this at times. Then I moved in next to a World War II veteran. His unabashed love of country reminded me that we can be proud of getting many things right without ignoring the ways in which we have neglected to live up to our full potential.
Check It Out: Learn more about ranked-choice voting (RCV). It’s an effective way to separate out the political candidates that the majority support while discouraging extremist views and toxic campaign tactics. Learn more at rankedvote.co or fairvote.org.
Reach Out: Contact your congressional representatives to volunteer or make your thoughts and feelings known. Some may be interested in a script created by Amnesty International to advocate for The Dignity Act. It’s a bipartisan effort to overhaul U.S. legislation related to border security, asylum reform, the protection of unaccompanied migrant children, employer responsibilities, voting by non-citizens, and more. The proposed act also includes a long-awaited path to citizenship for 2.5 million Dreamers brought to the country as children and who have lived in legal limbo for years.
Run For Office: It’s an act of patriotism, leadership, courage, and conviction that, for some, is the ideal vehicle for influence and change.
Stand Up For Democracy: Participate in peaceful protest, which is a hallmark of American democracy. Professor Erica Chenowith is the Director of Harvard’s Nonviolent Action Lab. In a podcast interview on We Can Do Hard Things, Chenoweth reported that during the 106-year period of 1900 to 2006, each of the 323 civil resistance campaigns worldwide that mobilized 3.5% of the people to engage in sustained, non-violent protest achieved its stated aim within a year.
Remember Pollyanna’s Glad Game? By now you might assume that after tossing it out the window, she gave up ever playing it again. But no—she slipped quietly out the door to retrieve it. It was battered but not broken and had not lost its power to offer hope and encouragement. Thankfully, she’s getting help from many others, including popular podcast host, Krista Tippett. In Tippett’s new On Being mini-series called “Hope Portal,” she says:
I’m talking about hope as a choice in the face of profound, reasonable despair…that kind of hope attends to reality in all its complexity... and it refuses to accept that things have to be this way…this orientation of hope throws one’s intelligence, one’s energy, one’s persistence, one’s creativity and courage behind that insistence…we have a world to remake—all of our disciplines, all of our communities. And it is in this context that I see a revitalized, chosen, practiced, applied hope, individual and communal, as urgent, and necessary toward that possibility of a different world.
Questions
1. What can you do (or stop doing) to help the country move through this time of political disruption?
2. President Bush deported more than 2 million undocumented immigrants during his time in office. Obama deported more than 2.5 million; Biden more than 4 million. What accounts for the public’s more measured reaction to those deportations compared to the ones taking place under Trump?
3. Have you ever participated in a protest? What led you to do so? Would you do it again?
