Growing Our Courage
Gradually or All At Once
Dear Ones,
I have been writing this post intended for today about growing courage one small act at a time. But our time is running out. As Timothy Snyder’s Lesson #20 states, we must “Be As Courageous as [We] Can” because our fundamental human rights and rights as US citizens were violated on Sunday by the President and his administration in a public display of cruelty.
The administration decidedly ignored a judge’s court order Sunday when it made a spectacle of delivering two planeloads of human beings to the notorious CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador that they paid $6M for "one year of services". They posted staged photos and videos of the event on X.
Our government justified this behavior by claiming the people they abducted were members of a dangerous gang. They did so without any due process and by improperly invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1789. These people have never been identified - they were shackled in chains and treated inhumanely.
The administration claims the President alone has the right to decide who is an enemy and punish them. If there were any doubts, any statements we have ever heard or we ourselves have made to minimize this administration's words or actions as simply bluster or hyperbole - I hope they will finally now be understood as mistaken.
Nature is a skillful teacher when we pay attention. Big problems below the surface often aren’t obvious until things are very bad indeed. This is a matter of survival. So, we usually have to look a little more closely to see the signs.
On Sunday I was phone banking for Wisconsin's critical Supreme Court race (which Elon Musk has poured millions into) and in my conversations it was clear to me that many people still aren't fully aware of the state of our political situation or even what is on the upcoming ballot.
Yet, around the same time the planes filled with prisoners were landing in El Salvador, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a physician at Brown Medicine in Rhode Island, was forced to leave the country despite her possession of a valid H1-B visa. In our relative comfort, many Americans don’t realize these are not random and isolated cases, but an accelerating descent into authoritarianism.
In late February, ICE officers raided Jersey Kebab in Haddon Township, New Jersey and arrested the restaurant’s owners who have been there for twenty years. The Mayor was quoted as saying:
Jersey Kabob [sic], a beloved restaurant in our Haddon Township community, has faced a heartbreaking situation that has deeply affected the family and our community. As frequent customers, my wife and I have cherished the restaurant's great food, reasonable prices, and always friendly service. Beyond its culinary offerings, Jersey Kabob [sic] has been a pillar of our community, embodying kindness, generosity, and a commitment to the well-being of our residents. The family's contributions, from participating in Toys for Tots drives to organizing community food drives, have left a lasting impact on our community. We deeply empathize with the family's pain and are committed to doing everything we can to support them during this challenging time. We immediately reached out to Congressman Norcross's office and are diligently following their guidance. Our hearts are filled with sorrow for the family, and pray for a speedy resolution that allows them to become a part of our community once again.
Becky Burke, a 28 year old Canadian cartoonist, has been detained in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing centre in Washington State since Feb 26th over a "visa mix-up.”
German nationals Jessica Brösche (a 29-year-old tattoo artist from Berlin who was held for 46 days) and 25-year-old Lucas Sieloff (who was held for 16 days) say they were wrongly detained and treated roughly in US immigration detention facilities before they were deported back to their home country.
People wonder, “Why isn’t anyone doing anything?” While we work, and tend to our families, and play, and sleep, the tendrils of corporate and political power and manipulation are running deep. Even the DC Bar Association is being targeted as a potential avenue for recreating our government to suit their desires - a way to further ensure that this administration’s agenda is never again legally challenged.
I was talking to a friend and fellow contemplative practitioner about what choices lie before us. It seems to me we can either resist or accept this new emerging reality according to our personal and collective needs and values, but hopefully we’re going about it in a clear-eyed and intentional (mindful) way.
Resisting now will be much easier than resisting later. Accepting may feel easier now, but do I understand what it means to live under an authoritarian regime? Am I willing to accept the negative consequences of that - not only the consequences to me and those closest to me, but also to those most targeted and vulnerable that I will have to bear witness to?
So, I’ve been thinking more deeply about and experimenting with ways I can resist nonviolently. Nonviolent resistance includes actions aimed at refusing to cooperate with violent and unjust forces - strategies such as information sharing, education and consciousness raising, marches, rallies, vigils, protest art, music and poetry, civil disobedience, boycotts and general strikes, etc.
In the article Nonviolent Resistance as Alternatives to War, resistance is said to be most effective when it comes at the earliest stages and when it is collective, nonviolent and open - but we also should not be afraid to go it alone as others may follow our lead.
It has occurred to me that it might now finally be an advantage to my family that I was a rebellious youngster. Going against the stream at an early age enabled me to break through some of our natural fear of nonconformity. Starting small and practicing working our way up to larger beneficial acts can be one way to build courage.
I was a vegetarian in the early 80s in rural Iowa - unheard of! I was also an early “cord cutter” - I haven’t had network TV since I started college (and no landline phone since the early 2000s). I’ve been more choiceful about what and where I buy. I’ve joined others in quitting the Amazon habit and we finally opened an account at our local credit union. I’m also divesting from a number of social media platforms and changing how I use email, messaging, and the internet. I’m even considering joining the General Strike.
I’m also speaking out where I can in ways that feel in alignment with my values. This hasn’t always felt like a possibility for me as a psychologist trained to be publicly politically “neutral”. I’ve done a lot of thinking about where that point of view came from, what it really means, and who it serves. I’ve come to believe that there are some occasions when taking a stand is in service of the greater good.
Those who have dared to take even bolder actions have truly inspired me. We can be empowered by stories from history - the iconic ones we’ve all heard about and the lesser known stories. I recently learned of George Dale from Muncie, Indiana who stood up to hatred and corruption despite enormous personal costs. History shows us that aligning ourselves with bad actors always ends up being a losing strategy eventually.
We can also watch courage playing out in real time through entire cities like Boston which became a sanctuary city for members of the trans, nonbinary, and LGBTQIA+ community, judges, attorneys and and businesses like Chief Judge Boasberg, Marc Elias, Williams & Connolly, Costco, Ben & Jerry’s, and Penzey’s Spices that are taking a stand and refusing to comply with illegal mandates.
Individuals like Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the federal agency in charge of enforcing U.S. workplace anti-discrimination laws), have spoken out alone and at great personal risk, against their employers’ compliance. She said, “I will not compromise my ethics and my duty to uphold the law. I will not cower to bullying and intimidation.”
I’ve also thought a lot about the potential slippery slope of aggression, which is understandable when folks are feeling “rage against the obscene” or fearful at being threatened. I feel it would be a mistake though to try to build what we are hoping for, something beloved, out of what we need to relinquish.
According to the Metta Center for Nonviolence, “Nonviolence is total non-compliance with injustice. To stop an injustice, one must refuse to comply with the injustice itself and the methods, rules, and logic that allowed the injustice to occur, namely, the rules of violence, coercion, and domination.” This means we can neither resort to nor enable the violence of the aggressor - a difficult balancing act for sure. We saw that challenge in our senate Friday.
When our system demonstrates it cannot protect or provide, we can create positive alternatives that, as the Metta Center says, elevate “dignity, self-sufficiency, and interdependence for all parties involved.” Positive alternatives require experimentation and imagination, relinquishing old, outmoded ways of thinking and being. That’s what I’d really like to be a part of - and I think my youthful rebellious roots might help.
Among other things, I plan to attend a national day of action Saturday April 5th and hope you might spread the word and join me in your city or in DC:
I also have a couple of events coming up:
The rest of this post is behind a paywall as I delve further into the personal and the political with additional observations, a bit about accountability and grief, and of course some resources. Do reach out and ask me to lend a hand if financial barriers prevent you from subscribing, but you’d really like to read on.
Wishing You Courage,
- Tracy