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Vow to make good trouble [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-26

The Reverend Nathan Empsall, the Executive Director of Faithful America, is leaving the organization today.

I’m not a Christian or even a believer, really, but I occasionally send them a few bucks because they seem to be Christians who actually follow Christ’s teachings instead of cherry-picking the Bible to suit their agenda.

His email touched on his visit to Germany, the German Resistance Memorial, and the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Haus. He wrote:

“But one thing that jumped out at me in every room of the museum was that it often wasn't the most famous or powerful figures who truly led the way, but ordinary people leading seemingly ordinary lives.

“Some of the most powerful resistance came from those who quietly yet firmly refused to comply: Students who still listened to jazz at night. Gay men who didn't abandon their lovers. Christian families who still shopped at Jewish-owned businesses. They didn't have to shout about their organizing for it to be dangerous -- dangerous for themselves, yes, but also dangerous for Hitler's grasp on power.”

I keep saying this, and I’m repeating it again: don’t obey in advance, don’t surrender, and don’t remain neutral in the face of evil. But, as you’ll note in Empsall’s letter, your resistance doesn’t have to be physically attacking your local Proud Boy, ripping down your neighbor’s Trump flag, or joining a march, strike, or sit-in. it can simply be going about your day quietly but with the resolve that they will not throw your life into the sewer.

Small actions in or (even better) actions slightly outside your comfort zone are a good place to start. As the outrages take shape instead of remaining intimidating threats and snarls, it will be easier to determine where and how to resist, and what shape that resistance will take. Right now, we’re tilting at the windmills that scare Dump so badly and wasting a lot of energy. The worse he gets, the easier it will be to take him down (IMO, of course, which a lot of you will disagree with). That’s okay; just do what you can, when you can, how you can.

And keep your families and friends close (and your cats closer, according to Barnaby. Don’t mess with Barn-barn.) :D

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/26/2299367/-Vow-to-make-good-trouble?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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