I moved here in 1990 and became a citizen in 2000. America was still the beacon of hope for the world. Why? It combined world power with restraint and lawfulness. While far from perfect, it had a set of values and beliefs that underlined political decisions. Even the (terrible and failed) Iraq invasion was legalized by the UN, and the US assembled a coalition of 47 countries before it started. America built relationships and used soft power (USAID for example) and coalitions along with strength and military power. It was not perfect, by any means. But it still was moving in the right direction. All that is being lost now.
Now we have masked police in the streets arresting and shooting people with no legal basis. International agreements are abandoned and disregarded. Even NATO, the coalition that made 70 years of largely peaceful life in Europe possible, is being dismantled. America is losing its soul. The executive branch blatantly disregards legal rulings (release of the Epstein files, anyone?). It blames victims without due process or examination of the facts. Wherever you look, there is brutal power on display. “We do it because we can” is the motto. Is that our America?
It’s time to move from opposition to resistance. Opposition is what we do in a functioning democracy. Resistance is what’s needed when one branch of government breaks the laws and acts unconstitutionally. The Civil Rights movement taught us how. Challenging what is going on and peacefully showing up is what is needed. Social research shows that if 3.5% of the population starts resisting, then a shift in power dynamics will emerge, and 3.5% is a pretty low number. Can we do it? How are you showing up?