Planning Your Next Action
Like many of you, I’m feeling incredibly inspired by the Women’s Marches and the amazing turnout. It’s certainly the most inspired and hopeful I’ve felt since the election.
But also like many of you, I’m concerned about what happens next. It seems Republicans are waiting for us to all get bored and distracted, expecting liberals will lack follow-through and organization. I’m hoping they will be surprised.
So my advice today is to sit down and really think about what you can contribute to the resistance in the coming weeks, months, and years. We all have strengths and weaknesses and we should be using those strengths to the best of our ability.
Trying to make a difference, especially in the current climate, can very easily lead to feeling overwhelmed, which can lead to despair. The good news is that there are a LOT of us, as evidenced so powerfully by the marches. If everyone contributes a little, does a small part, we CAN be a powerful force.
So ask yourself, what are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? A lot of you have very busy lives, I’m sure. You have work responsibilities, family commitments, and personal challenges. But if you have a good job, a reliable income, that’s a strength. So many great organizations need your donations. Your money can fund the actions that you don’t have time to undertake yourself. And those who have time and energy but no funds can participate thanks to your generosity.
If you are healthy, energetic, and have time, then getting out there in person through marches, sit-ins, and other in-person actions are probably where you should focus. If you are outgoing and social, engaging with people either face-to-face or online may be your best contribution.
Time is probably our most precious commodity. I’ve heard countless people lament that they just can’t keep up with all the news, read all the articles, stay informed and educated on every new issue. That’s ok. You don’t have to. There are lots of people out there who are doing this for you, whether they are journalists or online aggregators or the people who send out calls to action.
There is no minimum requirement to participate in activism. You don’t have to know everything, to have read all the right books, have committed a certain percentage of your time to the cause. Every bit helps, whether you spend all your free time on activism or ten minutes a week making phone calls.
Find news sources you trust, find supportive communities that will share calls to action with you, and trust those people to point you in the right direction.
Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert, whether you love debate or hate it, whether you are confrontational or not, whether you are able-bodied or disabled, there is something everyone can do. Help moderate an online community, make it your job to correct false assertions online, set up a time every day (or even once a week) to call your elected officials. Attend town hall meetings or protest whenever your elected officials have public events.
So today, in the wake of the Women’s Marches, I ask that you sit down for a few minutes and decide where to focus your efforts. Work with your strengths. Identify the resources you have and how to use them to best effect. If you need ideas for effective organizing, I highly recommend you read the Indivisible Guide.
Take this time to sort out your online life as well. Join local and regional groups that are organizing. Dump those groups or unfollow those sources that create clutter and take up your limited time without providing much value. Subscribe to weekly activist guides like Wall of Us or Jen Hoffman’s weekly list.
Make a plan. Set aside the time for activism AND for self-care and de-stressing. Don’t feel you have to do EVERYTHING all the time or you are a failure or a bad activist. Play to your strengths and let others handle the things they are better than you at.
Personally, I’ve been trying to do this since November 9th. I have a lot of limitations. I’m disabled and can’t work. I don’t have much money, and I’m stuck at home most of the time due to either my chronic pain or the fact that I don’t have access to transportation most of the time. But what I do have is time, and internet access. So I’ve been focusing on what I can do online to help the cause. I spend a lot of time keeping up with the news, and I follow a lot of activist groups. I help run a facebook group that’s focused on collecting actions and resources without a lot of excess chatter. I do all that because I can, and to help people who actually have to go to work and care for their children. And I fight my phone anxiety to call my elected officials a few times a week.
That’s what I can contribute. So what about you?
