Beyond the Lifeline: Choosing Pause, Action, and a New Moral Clarity

Nov 29

Practice vulnerability and honesty, both with yourself and others.
Develop radically caring, reciprocal relationships that go beyond surface-level interaction.
Move past “tabletop culture”—don’t rely on just prepared or performative exchanges; focus on authentic connection.
Learn from nature (otters are the best example) adapt together, signal to each other, and create supportive environments as a community.
Value mutual aid and care within your network, not just traditional forms of organizing.
Build courage by taking emotional risks and sharing your struggles, which encourages collective trust and empowerment.
Invite others to join you in honest conversations and be open to reaching out for support.

Authoritarian systems use divisive and mind-breaking tactics to disorient and demoralize people (e.g., conflicting political theater, normalized injustices).
There is escalating resistance and backlash against the progress made by BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA groups, leading to increased vulnerability and fragility of their bodily autonomy.
Traditional organizing and reliance on institutional systems has and are becoming less effective; mutual aid and non-traditional networks are now more crucial but often undervalued.
Authoritarianism fosters competition, isolation, and a “crab in a barrel” mentality. But it was cultivated by over a decade of greed and performative solidarity that refused to let the next generation lead.
The erosion of shared values, such as scientific consensus, and the targeting of all non-white, male identities, erode the foundation of collective advocacy and democracy.
Individuals must struggle alone, intensifying emotional and social burdens.

We cannot ask democratic institutions to show courage where they have chosen greed or the tradition of scarcity.
We must pause the work that only serves to erase us or make us compliant. You can erase our data sets and ban books, but the gifts, talents and hands behind them are living and blossoming.
If we want to set a new course, we must challenge Democrats who refuse to leave the halls of Congress or State House.
We must place big tent policy ideas on the ballot and take a leap into the future of what is possible again.
Waiting and seeing is a moral false choice in the face of the humanitarian and affordability crisis at home and across the world.
The arc of justice is built by us, and courage is our collective moral clarity.