Resistance

Thanks Jim Hodgson for sharing stories of those who are shaping a response to the incoming Trump administration. I encourage readers to read Jim’s blog in full; I share only extracts below. You are right — the time for grumbling and finger-pointing is over; it is time to develop a response to a new US administrative order that is racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, homophobic, climate-denying, vindictive, greedy, deceitful, and self-obsessed. (Did I miss anything?) It is hard to imagine any single political movement more opposed to the basic tenets of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, more resistant to the demands of justice, a politics that despises the “common good” more completely and obviously since the end of the Second World War.

In recent days I have published examples of gentle and thoughtful post-election responses  here and here. Some readers have responded that we need a more robust and courageous response to the Trump administration’s 180-day plan. In other words, “the gloves need to come off.” Democracy needs to find another way, and fast.

Looking specifically at environmental response, as the gains of the last four years are likely to be obliterated and the chant of “drill baby drill” will soon echo through the halls of the Capital and the White House. A recent feature from CBC News “What on Earth” was helpful for me. In their provocative new book, Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown, Swedish academics Andreas Malm and Wim Carton examine how politicians, business leaders and, yes, even some climate scientists have downplayed the imperative to make deep emissions cuts.

Asked about the most productive way to reduce oil dependency, Wim Carton responds: “We give this example of Colombia, of Ecuador — places where there are social movements. And obviously this is in many cases people who have been directly affected by the other effects of the fossil fuel industry, right? Not just climate change, but also its direct environmental effects, and [they] push back on the basis of that. I think you need that kind of … ground-anchored movement to be able to push back. We think that ultimately any change will have to happen through the state, but the only way we can capture the state or that you can change the direction of the state is through these mass movements of resistance.”

In your blog Jim you recently shared two stories which warmed your heart and boosted your  morale:

“Stop The Coup 2025, a campaign to fight Project 2025 (the Republicans’ plan for the next Trump administration). It has a toolkit for community organizers that includes a section, “Spotlight on Risk Preparedness/Criminalization/Underground Survival Tips.” It discusses the importance of organizations and individuals taking steps now to prepare and assess their vulnerability to Project 2025’s agenda and learning from LGBTQIA+ activists in other places who have been forced to live and organize under the radar due to state-sanctioned criminalization.

Here’s a bit more information about Project 2025: Project 2025 has a radical anti-democracy, anti-diversity, anti-gender agenda to:

•             systematically dismantle the federal government – a soft coup

•             give the next Republican president new “supreme powers” – an autocracy

•             use Executive Orders to “legally” reverse many of our civil rights

•             use the military to help clamp down on domestic dissent

•             criminalize & erase gender & LGBTQIA+ identity from government protection

•             reverse racial equality, attack diversity, and reverse environmental gains

•             replace secular education with Christian theocracy and a pro-life agenda

•             recruit and train 20,000 conservatives for government jobs

•             Use “Schedule F” to remove 50,000 civil servants

•             Require government “Loyalty Pledges” to an extremist right-wing agenda

•             Reverse historic US defense policy of deterrence to offense

•             Require US foreign policy, USAID to align with pro-life agenda

•             LAUNCH THEIR 180-DAY ADMINISTRATION TAKEOVER ON January 20, 2025”

The other newsletter in which you found hope comes from Codepink, the U.S. network of feminist peace activists. You explain ”I’ve worked with them in the past to counter the harm caused by U.S. sanctions in Venezuela, Cuba, and elsewhere, and some of my colleagues have worked with them for peace in the Korean peninsula and the Middle East. Part of their  message reads:

“We don’t want to waste your time with platitudes about how everything will be okay or even talk about the breakdown of the election. We think it’s more useful to go off what we know for certain now: Donald Trump is going to be president in January. But, a majority of Americans oppose U.S. support for Israel, and don’t want their tax dollars funding weapons that murder innocent people and destroy the earth. A greater majority of Americans oppose the U.S. starting new wars. It’s okay to feel deflated and discouraged, but don’t forget that the people are on our side – all we have to do is reach them.

We will continue to do what we have always done: educate by exposing horrific violence carried out by those in power, activate a movement for peace, and cultivate local communities that represent the world we want to live in. Solidarity is our best friend. Finding new and creative ways to scratch at power is our path forward.”

More wisdom comes from Natasha Lennard, writing in The Intercept, the answer is radical action from the grassroots. In her concession speech, Vice President Harris remained firm in the fight: “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign—the fight: the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people. A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.”

So Jim, you are right, we can’t give up. It is time to take up our respective crosses. We will take time however to mend, and to plan, to practice kindness, to love our neighbour, to care for creation, to walk the dog and pet the cat, and with the Old Testament prophet, Micah: “. . . to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.(96:8). Such is our privilege, and our duty to ensure that everyone can do likewise.