So, What Do We Do Now?

Like many of you, yesterday, I despaired over Kamala Harris’s loss and the future of American democracy. I threw myself a little pity party, entertained the idea of checking out of the political system altogether, and thought exactly what so many on our side were thinking: “Fuck it. They get what they deserve.”

Then, my kids came home from their schools, which have large immigrant populations, and shared stories about classmates asking teachers if they were going to be deported.

And with that, the pity party ended.

So, what are we going to do? Pointing fingers won’t help. Neither will woke scolding, complaining about the New York Times, or canceling our Amazon Prime subscriptions (although that might give you a brief sense of satisfaction until you realize Jeff Bezos doesn’t care, and now you have to drive out to some big-box store across town just to get new batteries for your Apple Airtags). Are we really going to spend another four years in resistance mode, virtue signaling, and sending social media messages into the bot ether, or worse, Twitter?

Tweets are not effective tools against fascism. They won’t keep our kids’ classmates from being deported. Neither will canceling Prime Video and depriving ourselves of the next season of Reacher. And making plans to move to Costa Rica won’t help those most in danger. The way we’ve been communicating just isn’t working.

My wife Molly is the director of the ACLU here in Maine, and I know that — both statewide and nationally — the ACLU has been preparing for this for months (remember, before Biden dropped out, many of us assumed Trump would win). With the Trump Memos, they’ve developed extensive plans to combat Project 2025 policies on abortion, LGBTQ rights, and immigration. They’re fighting these issues in local, state, and national courts. Other activist organizations, like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Planned Parenthood, are doing the same. If every activist legal organization is as dogged, smart, and determined as my wife, we’re going to be able to do some real damage.

On abortion, we’re already knocking down anti-abortion laws state by state, including in places as red as Missouri and Kansas (and we’ll get there in Florida, too). We can make real progress in the courts. Yes, there are many Trump-appointed judges, but activist organizations achieved significant victories during his first term, and don’t forget, Biden appointed a record number of federal judges during his four years, too.

Everyone in the Biden Administration is about to lose their jobs, too. Many of them will pivot to work for activist organizations to oppose Trump’s policies. The same goes for the thousands of bureaucrats Trump plans to fire if they don’t sign loyalty pledges.

This morning, I read about how limited the Trump Administration will be in following through on plans to deport millions. It’s expensive. They don’t have the funding or the manpower, and while they will reimplement Trump-era executive actions (some of which Biden kept in place), most deportation efforts will likely focus on immigrants who have committed crimes. Fewer refugees will be allowed into the U.S., but those already here are likely safe.

The real fight will be for asylum seekers who are already here and awaiting hearings. Families who’ve been here for years may face deportation. Parents may be forced to decide whether to bring their kids with them or leave them in the U.S.

That’s where we come in. We can, of course, donate to activist organizations like the ACLU, but it’s also about building relationships within our communities. I volunteer for a local HIAS organization my wife started, and I hope to do much more. Last year, I tried (with mixed results) to tutor ESL kids in math. Mostly, it’s about knowing who lives in our communities, building connections, and providing support where we can. Even for the most liberal among us, it’s hard to feel empathy for people we don’t know. But when we connect with those in our community, our fight becomes more meaningful, more determined, and more personal. We may not win every time, but it sure beats complaining or posting, en masse, screenshots of our Washington Post cancellations. It may give us a brief sense of smug satisfaction, but it’s not going to do shit for the kids facing deportation or help the next generation of women being deprived of their bodily autonomy.