Getting off the Sidelines

Part 1

Long ago, I was an editor of exercise science textbooks. I think it’s from that time that I remember a comment something like this: “The biggest bang for your buck public health-wise is getting the many people who are not exercising at all to exercise a little, not getting the people who are already exercising to exercise more.” Makes sense to consider if, say, you’re trying to organize a community walking challenge or some such. Right now, after hosting my first One Million Rising gathering (which was awesome!), and faced with the daunting and terrifying power grab now in progress in Texas, Washington DC, and elsewhere, I’m wonder whether it’s true of fighting authoritarianism.

Probably the answer is that we need both. We need both people who are doing a little bit—sending emails, amplifying via social media, making the occasional phone call, showing up to a demonstration or two—to find ways we can volunteer more of our time and energy, AND we need people who aren’t doing any of those things to start doing a few of them. Right now, I’m curious about the people who care, who agree that what this Republican administration is doing is unacceptable, but who are doing a lot less than they could (or nothing at all) in terms of activism and response.

So, what are the barriers to getting that little bit involved? Or to taking the next step and getting more involved? Here are a few factors I think are in play, in no particular order:

1. You don’t know what to do.

2. The things available to you to do don’t feel like they matter.

3. You’re scared to take action.

4. You’re exhausted or busy and don’t feel like you have time or energy to take action.

5. It’s so emotionally upsetting to think about what’s going on that you avoid anything that brings up those feelings.

There are probably many others, and more than one of these can be active at the same time. There’s a lot here, and I want to dive into some of these in more detail in future posts. But for starters, here are a few possible antidotes and resources for the barriers above, ones that have helped me and that others have written about or created resources for.

1. You don’t know what to do. Sometimes this feeling comes from an absence of options, and sometimes it comes from feeling overwhelmed by the possible number of things you might do. The solution is different in each case. For the first, it’s okay to treat learning about things you might do to help as your first meaningful task. This takes time. Set aside a small block of time and start making a list you can choose from. Indivisible and 50501 are doing a lot of organizing of campaigns that you can plug into in large and small ways, and there are many, many other organizations doing the work. What I struggle with more is deciding what to do once I’m faced with dozens of options. Asking what your abilities and resources are and what motivates you are important. Finding my lane is something I’m still working on! But overcoming the maelstrom and zeroing in on something you can stick with and keep at is important. I’m hoping to get to a point where I can treat activism like a part-time job, something I approach consistently, work hard at, and feel less panicked about.

2. Not feeling like it matters. I’ve written about normalizing this. None of us will get the satisfaction of single-handedly saving the world and that’s discomfort we should get used to. But, also, it’s helped me to put small actions in the context of a larger narrative that helps me see how they matter. One way to do this is learning more about how authoritarian regimes operate and how small actions chip away at their pillars of support. (If you want to dig into this, the One Million Rising trainings are helpful.) Another is to think about the many diverse forms of resistance and non-cooperation. Sometimes we’re doing things that are more meaningful than we think, such as supporting vulnerable people. This video and Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny helped me see how many little actions and habits in my community can support resistance to authoritarianism.

3. You’re scared to take action. If you are, it’s probably because you are paying attention. This Republican administration’s targeting of political enemies, human rights abuses toward immigrants and others, and deployment of the military against Americans are very scary. Everyone has their own vulnerabilities and level of risk tolerance, and given that I am a U.S. born citizen who is white and cisgender, I get that many people are more vulnerable than I am. So far, when it comes to the fear, the statement that rings the most true for me is that courage is contagious. The more I connect with others who are fighting—whether that’s just reading their stories, joining a mass call with an organization, or having direct conversations, the more energized and the less scared I feel.

4. No time or energy. This is a big one, but things are so critical at this point in American history that I think it’s worth asking what is bleeding our time and energy, and if there is anything we can change to have more of it. Sometimes it’s about energy more than about time, and if it is, addressing some of the emotional components of our exhaustion can help. Another alternative—if you have money, but not time, send money! If you’re sending some, see if you can send a little more! National organizing groups, the ACLU, and immigrant rights groups (like Immigrant Defenders Law Center, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigrant Justice Center, Four Freedoms Fund) can use your support, just to name a few. If you’re fortunate enough to have a job that pays you more than you need to meet your needs, giving money is an indirect way of sharing your time.

5. It’s too upsetting to think about. If you care about human beings, the planet, and/or this thing we call democracy, what is happening right now is going to be scary, heartbreaking, and infuriating. We can’t escape that, and we can’t run from those feelings forever (at least, as a mental health professional, I wouldn’t advise it). Letting ourselves feel them is valuable, and putting them into words with a trusted person usually helps. But one assumption that is worth challenging is that taking action means thinking about the things that upset us more. If you’re feeling things about what is happening, you’re probably already thinking about it a fair bit. For me, if some of that thinking time is spent doing one little thing to make it better, I feel better and actually think about it a little less for a while. And avoidance can consume a surprising amount of energy, plus lead to depression that makes us more miserable and less empowered. So I encourage you to be brave, connect with others, and find a little something you can do.

There are experts out there figuring out the most effective things to do to resist authoritarianism, and we should keep listening to them, but it’s going to take many different kinds of work. Going back again to my exercise science days, another aphorism in the field is “the best kind of exercise is the kind you will do.” So if something motivates you, energizes you, and you don’t dread it (or don’t dread it very much), that might be a good place to start.

Doing something is always better than doing nothing, and it usually feels better, too. Some days, maybe I do an auto-letter emailed to me by the ACLU that takes 30 seconds, even though I know it would be better to call my representative. But doing the automatic letter is still way better than getting overwhelmed and guilty and not doing either! Even as I write this, there’s a voice in my head telling me that a mountain has already been written on the subject, and that this might not be the best use of my time. “There are troops in the streets, for f***’s sake, and you’re writing a listicle!!” the voice says. But I’m doing it anyway, because it’s one thing I can do today with the bits of knowledge and experience I happen to have. And it’s better than doing nothing. And, like you, I’m trying to keep showing up as best I can.