Fighting Back Holistically

We are all feeling drained by the cartel of nihilists that is running roughshod through our government. They have made a bet that they can wear us down with a shock and awe strategy: throw every bit of messy food at the walls at once and hope we give up.

But there is a subversive step each of us can take to fight back.

We can take care of our bodies, our souls, and our communities.

Hannah Arendt posited violence as the opposite of power, and totalitarianism as lacking legitimacy. Legitimacy is rooted in meaning. It is based in our ability to share our experience of life with others. When we express ourselves, we build power and legitimacy.

Protesting at the women’s march with my friends.

We get worn out from working to feed, house, and clothe our families. We come home tired and have neither time nor energy left to strengthen our bodies, to reflect, to break bread, or share.

This is by design.

And yet these truly are the strategies we can employ to fight back.

Now that I have cleaned my house and painted some dragonflies on my walls, I plan to start holding small house meetings in my home to discuss ways my neighbors and I can strengthen our sense of community by supporting one another.

I am not yet interested in supporting specific candidates. I hope instead that we can come up with projects that add a sense of meaning and purpose to our lives. I trust that others throughout the US are finding ways to support their communities as well.

When we decide on a vision, the leaders will follow.

I am going to pick one or two issues I want to target my activism towards. Because the Orange Menace is tearing down everything, he is attacking every interest group. It is much easier to organize against an enemy than to agree on a vision. If each of us responds only to the one or two assaults that most affect us personally (and hence most engage our passions), we will all eventually converge in a single mass movement against the assault of nihilism.

Do not dissipate your energy. Take care of your mind. Take care of your body. Take care of the people you love most.

Community is the opposite of totalitarianism. Autocrats can't thrive if we live authentically and meaningfully.

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Working together to stay afloat

Our best collective defense is to each be our most authentic selves in communion with one another.

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