We, With Nothing to Lose

 Like many people, I recently took a short vacation from the news. I wasn’t crying, at least not all the time. I simply needed a break after a long and tumultuous fight.  I was writing in my journal, listening to music, enjoying nature, and doing art. I entertained the notion of extending the vacation for the next four years, but I knew my curiosity and desire to connect with the world would overwhelm me. It was time to go back.

I opened my laptop. In the search bar I typed resistance to Trump.  

The initial results at the top of the page baffled me. “The resistance is not coming to save you” proclaimed one headline, “the resistance is flaccid” asserted another. And, finally, “the resistance is dead”

“Wow”, I thought, “the resistance was pronounced dead almost as fast as America elected a demented, sociopathic liar to serve in the highest office of the land."

I decided this couldn’t possibly be true.  I scrolled further down in search of something more satisfying.   I read through one article on the new Democrat resistance strategy; It was called “playing nice”.  I read another that explained how the editor of Scientific American dared to call Trump voters nasty names. Then, she apologized and resigned. I was incredulous.

“Haven’t you people learned anything from this election cycle?” I hollered, as the effects of ten days of relaxation medicine quickly dissipated. “If you say something offensive and cruel, double down. Apologies are for the weak. Niceness is for losers.”

I was unraveling. I needed a remedy fast: something tried and true that never fails to soothe me. Trump is unhinged I typed. I found a few articles, but the results were two weeks old. I slammed my laptop shut.

“Strap in, America” I thought, “Now everyone is just riding the Trump express train to hell.”

 I sat for a while drumming my fingers on the table. The doom curtain descended like it was the end of the show. Then, a meek but reassuring thought peaked out from underneath it.

The thought went something like this: maybe the resistance is only dead for the rich and powerful: the corporate media and liberal aristocrats who benefit from the status quo. It’s possible that the resistance is not dead for those of us at the bottom: those of us with nothing to lose. After all, not every broke person voted for a fascist menace just to save a few bucks. In fact, there are quite a few of us who didn't. We can run a resistance.

I whipped out some scrap paper and started to plan.  What seemed nice is that the corporate elites, too busy using their tongues to lick jackboots, couldn’t tell me how to go about it. I felt I had permission to be radical. Let’s build the resistance by being ourselves, I wrote. It seemed like a good starting point. 

Let me explain. In my frequent encounters with Trumpers during the weeks leading up to the election, I heard many excuses for why he was the man. But here is something I heard often: Harris is phony. Trump is real.  What came out of his mouth seemed to matter less than his willingness to say it.

But, you see, we can do that, too. If it’s not what we say, but how we say it, then let’s say the things that we truly believe. Let’s say them forcefully. Let’s say them crassly, even. We’re the mommy party, folks, let’s embrace it. A mommy can be bold and indelicate. A mommy is not always polite.

Look, we tried to be like the republicans, and we lost. We tried to show them how macho we are, and they saw right through it. We adopted their issues: guns, law and order, the border, the price of bacon. We did trot out a few of our favorite topics this election cycle, but the republicans overwhelmingly set the agenda.

So, let’s use this opportunity to launch the resistance around our core values: compassion, human health and the environment. Our planet is in deep trouble. Climate change is not being addressed. Nature is disappearing. Cancer rates are soaring. Plastics are filling up the oceans. We are poisoning ourselves. Our death care system is a mess. Anxiety, depression and loneliness are afflicting our youth.  We are selfish and disconnected from our communities. Corporate greed is rife. The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.

Harris called us the “party of the future”, but she only had it half right. We are the party of one possible future: a sustainable future with nature, health, and compassion at its core. A future where selfishness and greed are not the organizing principles of our society. Call the republicans out for what they are: a party that wants to keep destroying our life support system and our communities to make a few people disgustingly rich.

But our current leaders, I’m sorry to say, are not going to get us there. First, they are benefiting from the status quo. They have no incentive to change it.  Second, even if we keep them, they will only join the resistance if they feel their power dwindling. Only we can make them change.

We, with nothing to lose.