Showing up

Now is a good time

I was glad to have a few weeks where I wasn’t on the road. It was good to put my suitcase in the closet, get some writing done, and catch my breath.

But then, starting last week, it was good to be back on the road. Really good.

I didn’t miss airports or hotels or delays, but I did miss connecting with people, face to face.

A lot of people think it’s been tough, doing what I’m doing. But what people don’t realize is that when I travel and speak and spend time with hosts and sign books and connect with readers, there’s a huge plus side. I can’t express how encouraging it is to meet so many good people, face to face. To hear poignant stories, to share fears, to tell the truth, to resolve to act, despite our fear, together.

In fact, one of the things we did on our Faith & Democracy tour last fall was structure every event with a social time afterwards so that people could find the same sense of encouragement, meeting new people, making new connections, forging new relationships. We need that now.

In fact, during Q&A last night at St. Mary’s College, I talked about how our current political predicament has a lot to do with how lonely and alienated so many people feel right now. We need to find those people. We need to get off our screens, spend time with real people, and do things together.

What we’re facing right now isn’t going to be defeated by keyboard warriors.

It’s a good idea to write or call your members of Congress and post thoughtful takes on social media. But it’s an even better idea to show up in person. To show that you care enough to leave your house. That you care enough to give up a couple hours of your week.

When you show up in person, a couple things happen.

First, you get noticed.

It’s easier to ignore dozens of voice messages than it is to ignore dozens of people at a town hall.

Second, you meet others. Trust me, you’ll feel the connection. And you’ll feel a new sense of solidarity and strength.

History shows us, over and over again, that ordinary people have immense power. Regimes that look invicible can end up being houses of cards. The appearance of power doesn’t always translate to actual power.

A few days ago, I was listening to a conversation between Bill Kristol and Sarah Longwell. If you’re feeling discouraged, or restless, or feeling something stirring…you might want to listen, too.

I jotted down a few key points from this chat:

We need people to start reacting.

Politicians are watching.

What can you do?

Be clear-eyed about the moment we’re in.

Flood the zone with your stories about how you’re being impacted.

Lift up “mid-level” voices. Elevate the voices of those who have stepped up. Those who have resigned, those who have resisted.

The actions of ordinary people are critical right now. You are much safer than those who are already in the sites of the Trump administration. You have the power right now.

Spartacus moments: if we all show up together, they can’t pick us off one by one.

Courage is contageous. So is cowardice.

Tomorrow, April 5, everyone has an opportunity to show up in person, protesting what organizers “the most brazen power grab in modern history.” It’s for all of us.

More details here:

In yesterday’s episode of The Convocation Unscripted, we also chatted about the protest, and why showing up matters. (I had to jump off after only a few minutes due to my talk at St. Mary’s, but I was very glad to be there for those few minutes.)

What is essential, however, is that any and all protests are absolutely nonviolent; this event’s organizers have hosted deescalation training for local organizers and participants. I was on a call with a pro-democracy legal expert today who made this same point, noting that the administration may be looking for any reason to enact the Insurrection Act.

Perhaps this leaves you wondering, is it safe to show up at something like this?

Probably.

Might there be future consequences for participants?

Maybe, but probably not.

None of these answers can be given with any degree of certainty.

But we do know that it’s probably going to be more difficult to do these things down the road if we don’t do them now.

What if you’re not the type to show up at things like this?

Then it will make an even bigger difference to have you there. And bring your friends.

Will showing up make a difference?

I think it will.

Will it change the course of history?

It might.

Or, it might not.

But it will probably change you.

A few days ago, I came across an excerpt from Omar El Akkad’s new book, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. I haven’t read the book yet, but these words have haunted me:

There is an impulse in moments like this to appeal to self-interest. To say: these horrors you are allowing to happen, they will come to your doorstep one day; to repeat the famous phrase about who they came for first and who they’ll come for next. But this appeal cannot, in matter of fact, work. If the people well served by a system that condones such butchery ever truly believed the same butchery could one day be inflicted on them, they’d tear the system down tomorrow. And anyway, by the time such a thing happens, the rest of us will already be dead.

No, there is no terrible thing coming for you in some distant future, but know that a terrible thing is happening to you now. You are being asked to kill off a part of you that would otherwise scream in opposition to injustice. You are being asked to dismantle the machinery of a functioning conscience. Who cares if diplomatic expediency prefers you shrug away the sight of dismembered children? Who cares if great distance from the bloodstained middle allows obliviousness? Forget pity, forget even the dead if you must, but at least fight against the theft of your soul.

Fight against the theft of your soul.