Navigating this U.S. Moment

Some thoughts on how I’ll navigate the current American moment, and do my part to protect democracy and the home I love.

Bernie Sanders, a leader I respect, has outlined a 4-step process to strengthen American democracy:

1. Ban dark money in primaries and reject corporate money;
2. Invest in state parties and grassroots organizing;
3. Make the budget transparent and hold consultants accountable; and
4. Adopt a progressive platform and small donor democracy

While this strategy pertains to the wider Democratic party, I'm finding it useful for framing some of my own thinking about how to engage. The first two steps, particularly rejecting corporate money and engaging in grassroots organizing, are inspiring my thinking about how I can be an active citizen and drive my own individual resistance to the Trump-Vance-Musk federal policy actions. 

The purpose of this post is to offer my *current* personal philosophy for how my household and I will engage in this current political moment, in case my ideas can be helpful to others who feel overwhelmed. Here is how I plan to engage:

1. Divest from corporate oligarchs (and support local and small business alternatives)
2. Get to know my neighbors and community (to support democracy through civic ties)
3. Build community resilience (with a focus on climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, and emergency response readiness)

These three approaches are the ways I personally am choosing to focus my efforts, and I plan to bring my husband, family, and friends along on this ride. There are other ways I know I can also make a difference–for example, by calling my elected representatives and engaging in down ballot elections. But these three buckets are where I’m going to focus first. 

Follow along if you're interested and please reach out with thoughts and ideas.