Taking a step back and surveying the political and civic landscape, it's a staggering sight. It's actually really hard to step back far enough to take in the entire awful picture.
Any single part of it, any one thing, is scary to the point of sounding the alarm and spending four years fighting the good fight against. Scary to the point of standing the meaning of the traditional Passover litany of thanks on its head. Dayenu: It would have been enough.
Nazis, misogynists, white supremacists, homophobes and Islamophobes as supporters. Dayenu.
Nazis, misogynists, white supremacists, homophobes and Islamophobes in the cabinet and White House. Dayenu.
Vain, childish, narcissistic bullying. Dayenu.
Petty, vindictive lashing out at perceived enemies. Dayenu.
Mindless spreading of conspiracy theories and out-and-out falsehoods. Dayenu.
Lying with impunity. Dayenu.
Zero public service experience. Dayenu.
No understanding of how government works. Dayenu.
No understanding of the actual powers of a president. Dayenu.
Terrible business record, in terms of being a good corporate citizen. Dayenu.
Terrible business record, in terms of being a good businessperson. Dayenu.
Conflicts of interest so large they would make carrying out a coherent foreign policy impossible. Dayenu.
The lack of a coherent foreign policy. Dayenu.
The lack of a coherent domestic policy. Dayenu.
Individual policy positions that are terrible. Dayenu.
Tax cuts for the wealthy. Dayenu.
Destroying Obamacare. Dayenu.
Undermining public education. Dayenu.
Limiting access to abortion. Dayenu.
Curbing voting rights based on nonexistent voter fraud. Dayenu.
The end of a commitment to fighting climate change. Dayenu.
Plans to register citizens based on their religion. Dayenu.
Massive immigrant deportations. Dayenu.
The opportunity to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice. Dayenu.
The wall that started it all. Dayenu.
And this is still only a corner of the canvas.
So the open question is, what do we do now? One perfectly logical response is to simply end the heartache: dive under the covers and curl up in a ball for a long, long time. Seriously. This is the most one-sided game of whack-a-mole ever. If it’s not one thing, it’s another, and another, and another. Each one requiring a different kind of response, a different coalition, a different set of tactics, an additional commitment of time, energy and brain cells. It’s all too much.
I mean, really — is it nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? Or should we just take up our remotes and watch Netflix for the next 48 months?
And then I remember why I have the luxury of even asking that semi-rhetorical question. Yep: straight, white male. Economically stable. Have a nice house I’m not going to get kicked out of. Not exposed on a daily basis to direct or indirect assault. Not living in fear for my home, my livelihood, my rights or my life. Surfing along on centuries of privilege for people who look mostly like me. Yes, I have noticed that Nazis are planning to march in North Carolina next week. Which does hit closer to home. But overall the closest I need to get to the front lines is being part of the Political Protest As Intellectual Exercise Brigade.
So it’s easy for me to bitch and moan and try to decide whether to be or not be an active participant in resistance. The realization of which — besides pulling me down off my high horse of political righteousness — is a recurring reminder that I have to do something.
Being Jewish, the Martin Niemöller “First they came” poem is something I’m familiar with, but like most of us I never imagined it could ever be more than an historic artifact. Now, though, it’s not purely theoretical: If first they come for the Muslims, will I speak out? If first they start asking for citizenship papers, will I speak out? If first they deny basic civil rights to people who are gay or transgendered, will I speak out?
The fact that these kinds of questions have real stakes is chilling. I would love to believe this is just hysterical paranoia. That would be so much easier. But I don’t think that’s a chance we can take.
Given what we’re facing, whatever I end up doing can never be enough. Not by a long shot. But that’s never a reason to do nothing at all.