(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . But I'm Tired [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-15 “What do you think of the new US president?” my friend in Ukraine messaged me. I instantly launched into the long spiel about how the election spelled the death of our democracy, free press, and freedoms. But it also felt insensitive to complain to someone living in a war zone. I asked her how she was doing. My friend talked about the Shahed drones, how they fly so low now, and even if they’re shot down the debris can damage buildings and harm civilians. The uncertainty of electricity during a freezing winter. Oddly, she did not seem as panicked as I was. Like most people, I did not expect Ukraine to last as long as it has against Russia. Ukraine is a relatively poor nation, a third the population of its opponent, armed with nukes and one of the world’s most powerful militaries. But once Zelensky stayed in Kyiv, the West rallied behind them, and it was clear their compatriots were willing to fight, Ukrainians banded together. Even though their loved ones were dying, even though they were freezing through heatless winters, even though their cities were demolished, at least they had their freedom, their dignity. And that’s part of human nature. You’re willing to fight if you know someone else is in the fight with you. If they aren’t, then why bother? At large protests, your odds of being arrested are miniscule. But if only a few are present, well, why should I go? Ukrainians could have complained about the millions who fled the country to evade the draft or the pervasive corruption of their leaders or the many pro-Russian collaborators who knifed them in the back for money. Why bother to fight for this godforsaken country when so many of our compatriots are awful? But their dignity and the idea of Ukraine mattered. It was worth dying for. And even if they don’t succeed, it’s worth making the Russians bleed for every inch of territory. When I visited China, I encountered a cautionary tale of a country that claimed to speak for the people but morphed into a one-party police state. I rolled my eyes at museums extolling the virtues of Xi and the CCP. I feared making an errant remark that could get my hosts in trouble. When I returned to the United States, I thought, good thing I live in a free country. Hopefully the people who support a cultlike one-party state don’t gain power here. You don’t really realize how good you have it until it’s gone. At the Nanking Massacre Memorial, I saw tributes to the foreigners who stayed behind during WWII, enduring severe mental trauma to save lives. How futile their efforts must have seemed, and the heroes never lived to see the statues erected in their honor. Some died far too young. Would you have stayed behind, I asked one of the most principled people I knew, believing she would say yes. “I don’t know, but I think it’d be more likely if I knew there were others standing with me,” she replied. Indeed, I can’t imagine WWII resistance groups like the Marquis or the White Rose succeeding without a supportive community. The camaraderie is essential to the cause. So what happens if this year’s Women’s March only brings in a trickle? When your friends tell you they’re tuning out from talking to voters because what’s the point? We tried so hard and what did we get for it? We’re tired. Trump won 49.9% of the popular vote and now the country is irredeemable and everything is over. First off, our efforts were not in vain. Kamala performed over three points better in the swing states she campaigned in, and all but one of the Democrats in a swing state won in their Senate races. The GOP House majority will be one of the slimmest in history, only achievable through gerrymandering. But what did Resistance 1.0 get us? Well, Trump was only able to pass one major terrible piece of legislation, his tax bill. Resistance groups and independent journalism flourished, the House flipped during the midterms. Four years later, Biden won and delivered one of the most impressive liberal agendas in American history. Our efforts were not for naught. But what if we organize and still lose? Isn’t that the only certainty of resistance movements? You never know if you’ll win. In fact, odds are, you won’t win. But the more time elapses, the more the government will shape the courts, the press, our education system, the voting booth, etc. that eventually it becomes impossible to win. We won’t have the privilege of being too tired to fight. Yes, you can still post on Daily Kos, but you might end up with a knock on your door at 6 a.m. To borrow therapy-speak: The key to fighting depression is doing the opposite of what your brain wants you to do. Get out of bed, exercise, engage with the world, build up your communities. Even though every fiber of your body is telling you to disengage, that the world shouldn’t behave this way, that you shouldn’t care if you get hurt in the process, let it all burn. When Kavanaugh was on track to be confirmed, I fell into a depressed state while driving to a campaign office. But the volunteers urged me not to give up hope, and sure enough, I left the office with an uplifted mood. Our beloved country still has a future. “You can’t only love your country only when your side wins.” What exactly makes a person put in the effort to fight? They have to have something to fight for, an idea, a cause. And if you no longer believe in the idea of America, in democracy, because humans are capable of behaving like animals if given permission by a higher authority, then what is the point of fighting? (The fact that we are all capable of evil does not surprise anyone who’s studied history. Heck, even we are not immune from this fact. Could you say with absolute certainty that if you had been raised in a Trumpy family and surrounded by Fox News you wouldn’t behave this way?). So what if we collectively decided that America is simply not worth fighting for? Everyone for themselves! All that talk about how Democrats are the ones with empathy, who care about others even if they don’t believe in our rights, that yeah we want to save lives in Gaza even though they’re the same people who don’t believe gays should be allowed to marry, then…what’s our excuse? Well, that sentiment was before we figured out fascism was such an alluring idea for tens of millions of our neighbors? So now I hope they reap what they sow and if I also get hurt, so be it? I guess the reason why I still haven’t given up in the idea of America, even though there’s ample reason for pessimism, is because I’ve benefited from all these rights others fought for me. Whether it’s cleaner air or the ability to attain a college education or the freedom to post my thoughts without fear…none of these rights came without someone in the past fighting for me, even though they have no idea who I am. I think about the suffragettes who went on hunger strikes and were force-fed food down their lungs and caught pneumonia as a result. And yet they still fought. I think about the Montgomery bus boycott, where for over a year, black protesters walked for miles each day to work and back. Labor activists, civil rights marchers, victims of McCarthyism, abolitionists, the list goes on. Most of America was apathetic, not much caring for human rights, content with a racist and sexist society, worried mostly for self-gain. You can forget about gay marriage or divorce in abusive marriages or a five day work week. If politicians were corrupt, well, as long as the right people were punished and they were able to get on with the day-to-day, who cares? And yet, a small minority of Americans were still stubborn, and perhaps crazy, enough to fight! The next two years will be perhaps the most critical in American history. In any study of abusers, if they are not stopped, they will continue what they’re doing. If they can’t be stopped, they must at least be slowed. And as much as we think life can’t get any worse, it can. If not Hungary, we can be Russia. If not Russia, we can add a theocratic element and be Iran. Yes, we are freaking exhausted. We got a four-year break of normalcy and now we need to save this country from itself again? Yes, yes we must seize every strategic act available to slow our descent to tyranny. Like the Ukrainians, we don’t have the luxury of choice. Come January, let’s march, if only to show our neighbors that good people exist. Let’s join our Indivisible chapters, make phone calls, organize, engage. But Americans deserve what they voted for! Why is it up to our generation to do all the work to save the tatters of American democracy? That’s a good question. I didn’t make the decision either, that the 248th year of America would require its strongest resistance movement yet. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I know there will be good people fighting, and it’s unfair to place all the remaining burden on them. So if anything, let’s not make it so easy for those who wish to do away with the idea of America. I’ll be curing ballots this weekend. I hope you join me. 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