What Can You Do? No, I Mean Literally, What Can You Do?

Millions of us taking small actions is empowering and effective.

Photo credit: Illustration by WhoWhatWhy from Dimuth Amarasiri / Pixabay and mirey2222 / Pixabay

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In these frightening times — ever since Donald Trump won the election and brought about unthinkable, unimaginable, unspeakable chaos, destruction, and, in some cases, irretrievable loss of all we hold dear — the question of What Can I Do? is one that so many of us have been asking ourselves.

Often, the answer has been: I Don’t Know.

Just the other day I got an impassioned note from my twentysomething niece, and I’d like to dedicate this column to her and her generation.

She had read a recent column of mine, commented on it, then added:

I’m feeling the need to get active and do something to help save the world right now, but I don’t know what that should be. Let me know if you have ideas.

I quickly wrote back to her with my first thoughts:

Hi D, simply caring and speaking about the situation to others is already a good step as it raises awareness and that leads to endless small actions, all of which have a ripple effect. I notice how few people I hear talking about the larger reality and I understand why they don’t, but it worries me.

My mother, a Holocaust survivor, had, for many years, warned me and anyone else within earshot that we should never assume that monstrous things “like that” could not happen here. I have, as a consequence, lived my life with a heightened sense of awareness — of threats of all kinds — and how the people around me react. Do they see what I see? Do they see its significance? Do they care?

And as I told my niece, I am vexed by the lack of urgency — an unawareness of what is happening — in the conversations I overhear. Sport scores, job promotions, what Princess Kate was wearing … I hear it all. Serious consultations on the danger all around us, not so much.

So, the first and simplest thing we do: We talk about it. We don’t hide from it, we don’t avoid it because “it’s a downer” or might risk an argument.

Avoidance may be good manners when discussing things that don’t matter, but keeping our heads down at a time like this?

We who do not avert our eyes have a duty as heralds. That’s essential when a lot of people, in this age of self-selected “news” sources, know surprisingly little about what is going on.

For them, all the terrible things the current regime is doing just don’t exist.

But If enough of us persuaded just one person to pay attention to what’s happening to our country, think of the snowball effect.

In the words of the late John Lewis — the civil rights activist who survived a severe beating on the streets of Selma, AL, and went on to represent Georgia in Congress, where he helped pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act:

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.

What To Do?

Speaking of ideas, on a train platform the other day I began chatting with Claude Salzberger, a branding expert who has an intriguing idea. He raised an issue I’ve thought about a lot: What actual progress do we make from our occasional marches, demonstrations, and protests? In particular those of us who live in big blue cities?

I know these spectacles make participants feel better and keep us engaged and hopeful — and maybe remind Trump partisans that plenty of people feel differently. But do these events change anything?

My new friend’s idea is this: Instead of protests, hold regular community events, not for expressing outrage but, specifically, for the purpose of bringing together all kinds of Americans.

Instead of marching or milling around listening to speakers and then dispersing — and here I am imagining how this might work — we would all just talk to one another, building fresh relationships, inspiring our neighbors and fellow citizensAnd then go out to do whatever we do, later reporting back to these same new friends and some still newer ones.

I asked Claude if he could expand on what he was thinking, and he sent me this follow-up note:

Here you go… hope this helps!

(Local) Democracy Fairs — break down barriers and build community. Everyone welcome, make new friends, find a cause, get involved. Every week or twice a month (think of it as a farmer’s market). Tents of various NGOs (merch opportunity!), music/entertainment, open mike for folks to express their ideas. Ideal for smaller towns/communities. National effort coordinated and endorsed by grassroots organizations (e.g., David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve). Emphasis on discussing local issues. Event “brand” to be used nationwide — friendly, fun graphics (a la Zohran [Mamdani])…,

This sounds like an idea that could catch on. The 1960s gave rise to new kinds of protest activities, ranging from day-long “teach-ins” to public draft-card burnings. To be sure, not all of those who participated in protests agreed on everything. But the energy and desire to get beyond official propaganda and, in a slogan of that day, “speak truth to power” moved the needle on many issues — from civil rights to banning nuclear testing.

It can happen again — if enough people find their voice to rouse others.

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Besides communicating with each other and spreading the truth, we must always be prepared to fight back. We receive almost daily summons to do so. For example, this week I received the following press release from the White House:

Ken Langone, co-founder of The Home Depot, says he has “never been more excited about the future of America” than he is under President Donald J. Trump. In an interview on CNBC, Langone praised President Trump’s economic policies, leadership, and return of the American spirit.

This really made me want to see some economic consequences for Langone, although it’s too late for that. The 89-year-old has already made billions from our purchases. But there are many other morally bankrupt industry leaders whose businesses we could boycott.

We need to practice personal agenda economics, spending in line with our values. That means looking beyond what we buy to who profits, including powerful figures like Ken Langone. It takes effort, but it makes a difference.

The obvious model for such mass, targeted economic actions is the spectacularly successful “Tesla Takedown” directed at Elon Musk.

The challenge is in recognizing and publicizing how your dollars make it down-river to wind up in their pockets and settling on effective ways to dam those tributaries.

But, I kept wondering what to do about Langone, whose surname I see everywhere as I walk through my city. New York University Hospital appears to have named 13 buildings after him. I did a quick check.Thirteen hospital-related buildings in New York City honoring this man — but in reality simply a reminder that money talks.

Those institutions are dedicated to top-quality medical care — and Langone is out there toasting Trump as he destroys the very foundations of health in our society.

At minimum, NYU, a major New York and national educational institution, ought to be asked about this — and required to state its position.

I provide this merely as an example of the myriad cases which call out to us to take action. We don’t need to wait for political organizations to tell us which particular course of action they are pursuing. We can act on our own, in our own community, as a concerned individual and with other citizens.

As Jane Goodall said, “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

Finally, here’s another thing you may want to consider: WhoWhatWhy, our nonprofit, reader-supported news organization, relies — outside our core of experienced professional journalists — on the supporting skills and enthusiasm of talented volunteers. If you’ve got useful abilities relevant to news, nonprofits, organizational management, fundraising, marketing, art and design, research, editing, technology, or other areas, please feel free to tell us.

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