Resistance

As Trump and President Musk flood the zone, it is impossible for any one person to track and respond to it all (which is, of course, part of the point). And I don't intend to try to keep up beyond the education piece, partly because I can't and partly because one of my fears is that state and local fires will burn untended while everyone tries to navigate the flooded zone. It feels so much like there's nothing that many of us can do.

Still.

The attack on the federal government perfectly mirrors the last few decades of attacks on public education. "Look, I hold here in my hand proof that this system is failing!" Followed by delegitimizing authorities. Stripping people within the system of autonomy, while promoting authoritarian forms of boss-ship ("because this thing needs a strong leader to straighten out everyone else)". The trying to shut it all down in part or in full. The only thing missing from the Trump/Musk regime is an offer of piddling vouchers so that citizens can have greater "freedom."

There's an awful lot going on in several arenas, and a lot of discussion about checks and balances and what names to call the regime and how to strategize attempts to hold it back, from filing lots of lawsuits to trying to find out what kind of crazy glue has the asses of Democratic Congresspersons stuck to the bench.

I want to make one observation. At the root of all the various actions by the regime is a simple principle-- the nation shouldn't have to take care of Those People. Get rid of DEIO, because we shouldn't look after Those People just because they belong to a particular group (or because they are human beings and so are we). We shouldn't look after LGBTQ persons (in fact, we should wipe the T out of existence). We shouldn't look after people in other countries, especially if they have come to our country (we sometimes remember to specify "just the illegal ones" and sometimes not). Definitely not the people who ever opposed us, or tried to investigate us. The list is huge and getting huger every day.

It is almost explicit. It would have been a simple thing, when going after USAID, to pay lip service to simple empathy and social responsibility: "Of course we will make sure that people who are dependent on USAID grants for life-saving treatments are not hurt. We will make sure not to damage anything that can't be fixed later. And we will do this carefully and thoughtfully." They could have at least acknowledged the idea in a lie and gone about their fast breaking of all the things.

But they haven't, at any point, and everything taken together, I have to conclude that the root point of all this is to wave a finger at all the rabble, all the people who aren't white male billionaires or the fans thereof, and say, "We are not taking care of you any more. We have no obligation to you as fellow humans. If you deserved more than what you have, you would have earned it. If you haven't, tough shit." And also, "See those people over there? I'm pretty sure they're out to get you."

This is the Randian dream-- to create a country in which you never have to care about anyone but yourself and your close personal circle (as long as they stay loyal to you). That is what being a king really means-- nobody can ever make you care about anyone else. (Well, that's what it means to people who don't bother with history.)

A country in which nobody has to empathize, to sympathize, to care about other human beings. Where there's a long list of less-thans, and you can treat them as poorly as you want. Where people are moved by fear and/or power. That's the foundational animating principle under all of this.

Yes, there are people who get caught up in it because of particular feelings about particular issues. When a regime puts its stamp on everything, it will inevitably put its stamp on issues about which reasonable people can disagree (though it will, paradoxically, use that to argue that you should not be too dogmatic about your side, but common sense tells them that their side is unequivocally correct, and attempts at a conversation with them will be frustrating and frustrated because as long you're bothering to talk about it, they will feel as if they're winning, and who, they think, gives ground when they're winning, because the Point is not to search for a truth, but to dominate).

So, in all of this, one of the most fundamental acts of resistance is simply treating other human beings like human beings. It is empathy and sympathy. It is looking for ways to celebrate and foster joyous connections.

The anti-life of the regime embraces the view that everyone is out to get you. It requires a sense of aggrieved complaint because it is always aggrieved about something. It's a projection. "I know everyone is always out to get someone, because I know that's how people are, because I know that's how I am." They will always be coming for another group, and at the same time, there will always be palace intrigue. Someone new will always be in. Today we are all stamping out Mugwumps to protect the Kaknots; next week, we will turn and attack the Kaknots.

Resistance means not becoming that. It means caring for other humans, looking out for other humans, feeling for other humans (even less-than-delightful other humans).

Teachers are well-positioned for this sort of resistance, because they have a classroom of other humans every day. I always called teaching a kind of guerilla warfare, work that you undertake often in spite of the people who are supposed to be supporting you. If you are going to get your students the educational elevation they deserve (by virtue of being human beings), sometimes you have to defy a few rules. They deserve a decent education, to learn all they can about reading and writing and the world, more than rulemakers deserve unthinking obedience. That's going to be more true than ever.

For those of us not in the classroom, the need will be to maintain human connections, to be part of a community, to remember the parts of our personal faiths that aren't centered on smiting and punishing, and just generally resist the attempts to create a country and culture centered on a harsh, uncaring worship of power, a national ethic of "I've got mine, Jack. You're on your own."

It's not going to stop the dismantling of government agencies or flouting of law or stomping on the Constitution, but as I wade through the ugliness on line and read the comments from the regime, I can't help feeling that actual care for other human beings is going to be a radical act of resistance going forward. If nothing else, it's something that every single one of us can do.