Are you feeling paralyzed by politics?

There is so much that each of us can do to make a difference. It might just be something small… like talking to a neighbor or family member or reading an article. Writing a message to your US senator or congressional representative is easy - just search for their contact information. Or call them. You can make a donation (even just a small one) to many different groups dedicated to social justice - for example the ACLU or to FlipTheVote or Waging Nonviolence or a local charity that helps underserved people. There are rally’s occurring across the country. Or make a sign and stand at a street corner - invite a friend. Make a poster and put it up on a telephone poll. Make buttons or stickers.

Look for alternative news sources -there are so many now! Heather Cox Richardson is a professor of American History at Boston College and writes a daily newsletter on the political events of the previous day. Read Robert Reich (UC Berkeley professor and former US Secretary of Labor), Anna Eisenberg’s daily newsletter or The Guardian (instead of papers owned by the billionaires!)

If you do one thing every day, it becomes a practice. It is less intimidating. It transforms you from someone who is stuck and frustrated to someone who is making a difference. If you can motivate another person do do one thing every day for democracy, then we suddenly have a movement!

A true patriot is someone who defends democracy - the right to information, the right to speak up, the right to vote.

Lithograph, “Dissent is not disloyalty!” Berkeley, California, 1967 from the Martin Luther King speech “Why I am opposed to the war in Viet Nam”