It seems like an eternity, but Tuesday marks the seventh week of this despicable regime. I’d like to talk about coping with the stresses of this era.
A few people I know are coping by remaining in denial. They continue to normalize what’s happening in the familiar terms of Republican versus Democrat, right versus left, conservative versus liberal or progressive.
But they’re deluding themselves. There’s nothing normal about this. We’re in a different world now. Even calling this “Trump 2.0” radically understates what’s happening.
The choice is democracy or dictatorship. Self-government or oligarchy. Everyone must choose sides. Not to choose is to accept the forces now in control — to allow Trump to become even more of a dictator and his billionaire backers and cronies to siphon up even more oligarchic wealth and power.
Another coping mechanism that’s just as dangerous is giving up — succumbing to cynicism, believing everything is hopeless. Those in this defeatist camp think nothing can prevent us from an apocalypse — the end of America, the termination of civilization, the death of the planet. They’ve stopped reading or listening to the news. They’ve turned their backs on activism.
But defeatism is exactly what Trump, Vance, Musk, and Putin want us to feel. They’d like nothing better than for us to give up, so they can have it all. Cynicism and hopelessness play into their fetid hands.
It’s also a self-fulfilling prophesy. If we believe we’re doomed, we’re doomed.
The reality is that Trump, Vance, and Musk have done truly terrible things over the past seven weeks that are already hurting millions of people.
But the regime has not extinguished hope or resolve. To the contrary, it is igniting activism. It’s fueling courage. I see it all around me, as I’m sure you do as well.
Let me share with you my six coping mechanisms.
First, I’ve stopped listening to Trump and even stopped trying to analyze his warped psyche. I already know he’s spouting nothing but lies. And by now I’m familiar with his malignant narcissism.
Second, I no longer pay attention to the politicians, media personalities, political operatives, and pundits who are treating what’s happening as a variation on normal partisan politics. They’re tiresome and wrong.
Instead, I’m seeking out voices who understand the stakes, who give me reasons for hope and practical ideas for what you and I can do. I’ve already shared some of them with you and will share more this week.
Some are voices from the past — people who lived through Hitler and Mussolini and Stalin, or through Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” or Pol Pot’s “killing fields.” Some are keen observers of what occurred (Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism) or historians (William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany provides a chilling account that echoes today).
Fourth, I’m interacting with people whose average age is a half-century younger than mine — my students at Berkeley and my colleagues at Inequality Media. Their energy, humor, and commitment continue to buoy my spirits.
Fifth, I’m relishing my friendships and holding my loved ones tight.
Finally, I’m writing this daily letter to you in hope that it helps you cope in all these ways — and inspires you to even more activism, resistance, rebellion, good trouble, and peaceful civil disobedience.
These are familiar terms to those of us who remember the struggles over civil rights and the Vietnam War. They are as relevant for what we’re going through now as they were then.
In other words, one of the best way of coping with this nightmare is to fight it.
Keep calling the White House: 1-202-456-1414 (switchboard). 1-202-456-1111 (comments). Jam it.
Keep calling your senators and representatives. The Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. The switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate or House office you request.
Organize and mobilize for downballot elections this year, and for House and Senate elections next year.
Protect the vulnerable in your community: undocumented workers. LGBTQ+ people. Vocal anti-Trumpers who may need protection from Trump vigilantes. Refugees from Ukraine. Others who need your help.
I’m sure you’ve found additional ways of fighting back. Please share them with us in today’s comments.
Take heart. We will get through this and be stronger for it.
Bless you and thank you.
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.