Well this feels doable 😊. With so much being said about the horrors of the first year of the second term, this is refreshingly positive. Thank you Olivia for keeping it real and manageable 😉
I'm glad you said this because I was feeling like there isn't much of anything I can do about it. Sure, I show up for No Kings Day, like a million other people, but what's next? Keep on keeping on, and let them know that when I see something I can do about it, I will do it.
Meanwhile, I watch their coalition wobble and stumble from one idiotic move to the next. Perhaps there is a threshold that will cause enough people to defect to make the whole thing collapse.
My accounts have been hacked, including Substack. I've changed my phone and everything and nothing and no one helps. I have been broken down at times but I will not give into it. We're in a low place and it will most likely get worse. But I believe in democracy. I love my country and the rule of law. I love America. I want to vote and have my opponents have an equal vote to mine. I don't and won't ever, ever be accepting of white nationalism. I will not accept a paramilitary out of my tax dollars. I want to run away. But I know some things. Dread is born from inertia. Our fears are well founded but fear is the fertile ground of bravery. Be brave. Be bold. If you love democracy and a country full of immigrants keep going. I want my Thai food. I want my soul food. I want my Mexican. I love the just plain folk of this country who are a menagerie of hundreds of years of despair and grit. Plain folks friend. Plain folks will save democracy. You will do it. I will do it. Love everyone and demand that this country remain a democracy.
I've been keeping track for a very long time and writing stuff down. I also am NOT a shrinking violet! I'm angry but feel we have to keep plodding ahead! We have to keep doing what we can to resist all the crap and chaos they are pushing our ways! Steadiness it truly important! NO Normalization, this stuff ISN'T NORMAL on ANY level!
Hate to say it but it's true. I've started to hear it in local discussions with friends when I hear "not much we can do about it. For now just grin and bear it. Mid terms are coming soon and maybe we can turn the tide." Instead we should be riding our State and local representatives every day with the complaints of what is wrong, what are they doing about it and when can they schedule local "Town Hall Meetings". If we don't keep the pressure on, then don't expect a good outcome.
Upon reflection, I would add two things to your Year Two advice:
1) Be kind. As you go about your day, be nice to the people around you. Say thank you to the harried cashier. Ask your waitperson how their day is going. Give up your bus seat to someone who looks like they could use it, not just the elderly or pregnant. As someone who is a bit of an introvert and curmudgeon, this goes against my nature, but it feels important to try. When the world is going crazy, it can't be a bad idea to try and emit calm and fellowship.
2) Get involved locally. Do something, anything, to contribute the Commons. Run for office. Apply to join your county's Civil Grand Jury. (Not a criminal grand jury but an often overlooked but essential civilian watchdog function). Volunteer at a food bank. Join your local Indivisible chapter. Or if all of that is too much (and it may be -- no shame in that), get really local and really small. Stop and chat with your neighbors if you see them on the street. Drop by the elderly person's place down the hall or across the street and ask if you can help with shopping or other small tasks.
Liked, restacked & shared to Bluesky (as always). Thanks, Olivia. For my part, as a retiree in the UK, I see my role is to simply share, pass on, amplify and clarify the news, articles & podcasts to which I subscribe. I only have 5.5k followers on Bluesky so far, but the number is slowly growing - I've only been on that platform since mid-August, so it's early days!
Find a lane! For me it’s become a hobby to permanently boycott anything and everything I don’t value and that leads back to the pockets of oligarchs. I will not be their ATM machine. The past 2 years have been alot of simplifying and pruning in my life. It’s been freeing but it requires a steady and thoughtful effort. Once I got a handle on it, I started to share with others what I’m doing and why. Pass it on.
Also — I work in public schools and with disabled youth. The dismantling of public education is real. And awful. I continue to advocate, and unabashedly, for students and with all adult persons and most especially MAGAs in public education—and there are many. I’m in the trenches and behaving steadily.
I agree that even the simple act of continuing to say it out loud and name it clearly is more than a lot of people are doing right now. I recently had a little tantrum on Substack Notes about the complete dissociation by some people on the day that Good was killed. I got some flack because I was actually too snarky, so I went back and wrote a longer-form, more nuanced post. We all need some "breaks" from reality, but at the same time, we have to remain aware and to keep speaking the truth (at the very least).
Well this feels doable 😊. With so much being said about the horrors of the first year of the second term, this is refreshingly positive. Thank you Olivia for keeping it real and manageable 😉
Words of wisdom from the wise.
I'm glad you said this because I was feeling like there isn't much of anything I can do about it. Sure, I show up for No Kings Day, like a million other people, but what's next? Keep on keeping on, and let them know that when I see something I can do about it, I will do it.
Meanwhile, I watch their coalition wobble and stumble from one idiotic move to the next. Perhaps there is a threshold that will cause enough people to defect to make the whole thing collapse.
Show up today Free America at 2pm walkout
My accounts have been hacked, including Substack. I've changed my phone and everything and nothing and no one helps. I have been broken down at times but I will not give into it. We're in a low place and it will most likely get worse. But I believe in democracy. I love my country and the rule of law. I love America. I want to vote and have my opponents have an equal vote to mine. I don't and won't ever, ever be accepting of white nationalism. I will not accept a paramilitary out of my tax dollars. I want to run away. But I know some things. Dread is born from inertia. Our fears are well founded but fear is the fertile ground of bravery. Be brave. Be bold. If you love democracy and a country full of immigrants keep going. I want my Thai food. I want my soul food. I want my Mexican. I love the just plain folk of this country who are a menagerie of hundreds of years of despair and grit. Plain folks friend. Plain folks will save democracy. You will do it. I will do it. Love everyone and demand that this country remain a democracy.
This is exactly what Olivia is talking about.
There's nothing you can do?
How about YOU volunteering for a Congressional candidate? Register voters, canvass for them; write postcards.
"was" is past tense. I haven't given up; I'm just looking for whatever is next.
I'm not convinced that the world needs much more of that sort of electioneering, especially living in a safely Democratic district.
Pick up your lane. And add your good to the cause.
I've been keeping track for a very long time and writing stuff down. I also am NOT a shrinking violet! I'm angry but feel we have to keep plodding ahead! We have to keep doing what we can to resist all the crap and chaos they are pushing our ways! Steadiness it truly important! NO Normalization, this stuff ISN'T NORMAL on ANY level!
Hate to say it but it's true. I've started to hear it in local discussions with friends when I hear "not much we can do about it. For now just grin and bear it. Mid terms are coming soon and maybe we can turn the tide." Instead we should be riding our State and local representatives every day with the complaints of what is wrong, what are they doing about it and when can they schedule local "Town Hall Meetings". If we don't keep the pressure on, then don't expect a good outcome.
Thanks, Olivia. Your advice on what to do in Year Two is a recipe for sanity, survival, and effective action. It gives me hope.
Upon reflection, I would add two things to your Year Two advice:
1) Be kind. As you go about your day, be nice to the people around you. Say thank you to the harried cashier. Ask your waitperson how their day is going. Give up your bus seat to someone who looks like they could use it, not just the elderly or pregnant. As someone who is a bit of an introvert and curmudgeon, this goes against my nature, but it feels important to try. When the world is going crazy, it can't be a bad idea to try and emit calm and fellowship.
2) Get involved locally. Do something, anything, to contribute the Commons. Run for office. Apply to join your county's Civil Grand Jury. (Not a criminal grand jury but an often overlooked but essential civilian watchdog function). Volunteer at a food bank. Join your local Indivisible chapter. Or if all of that is too much (and it may be -- no shame in that), get really local and really small. Stop and chat with your neighbors if you see them on the street. Drop by the elderly person's place down the hall or across the street and ask if you can help with shopping or other small tasks.
We are all in this together.
Liked, restacked & shared to Bluesky (as always). Thanks, Olivia. For my part, as a retiree in the UK, I see my role is to simply share, pass on, amplify and clarify the news, articles & podcasts to which I subscribe. I only have 5.5k followers on Bluesky so far, but the number is slowly growing - I've only been on that platform since mid-August, so it's early days!
Find a lane! For me it’s become a hobby to permanently boycott anything and everything I don’t value and that leads back to the pockets of oligarchs. I will not be their ATM machine. The past 2 years have been alot of simplifying and pruning in my life. It’s been freeing but it requires a steady and thoughtful effort. Once I got a handle on it, I started to share with others what I’m doing and why. Pass it on.
Also — I work in public schools and with disabled youth. The dismantling of public education is real. And awful. I continue to advocate, and unabashedly, for students and with all adult persons and most especially MAGAs in public education—and there are many. I’m in the trenches and behaving steadily.
We must call a spade a spade. Sugarcoating anything pernicious will not help anyone, other than the people commiting crimes.
It helps so much to hear these words from you. ❤️
to keep the shock value coming. Unfortunately, numbness is infectious.
Thank you.
This is really reassuring.
This is a journalist and documentary maker friend. Thought you would appreciate Olivia 🙏
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/0b/11/5C309DAD-F602-4B27-A3FF-CE9E1DC21EBA/ScreenRecording_01-21-2026%2011-32-53_1.MOV
I agree that even the simple act of continuing to say it out loud and name it clearly is more than a lot of people are doing right now. I recently had a little tantrum on Substack Notes about the complete dissociation by some people on the day that Good was killed. I got some flack because I was actually too snarky, so I went back and wrote a longer-form, more nuanced post. We all need some "breaks" from reality, but at the same time, we have to remain aware and to keep speaking the truth (at the very least).
Your best article, thank you. I will do my best.