LRN66 - The first 30 days
30 days that feel like 300
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Hello - I would say Happy Tuesday, but…
We knew that it was going to be bad when President Trump got back into office, but I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the swiftness of the demise. It is a lot, but we cannot let it slow us down - we need to stay awake, aware, and active!
The Main Page
The First 30 Days
There has been a flurry of disgusting activities from this new administration in just the first 30 days. Some mundane, some outrageous, and some extremely harmful and damaging. Many of the executive orders have the appearance of this administration seeing what they can get away with. Basically - they are stress-testing democracy, and specifically, the United States form of this governmental structure. Trump and his allies would like to see exactly how far they can push the system before it breaks. Hopefully, since we are one of the oldest democratic systems in the world, we are strong enough to withstand this and come out on the other side. That is the hope, at least.
As we said throughout the campaign, fixing the economy was NOT Trump’s goal. He tried to distance himself from the groups that put together this “Mandate for Leadership” (Project 2025), but it was, and now is, very apparent that he was on board with their vision for America. They also put together a 180-day playbook, which appears to be almost exactly what Trump is following.
And in case there was still any doubt about the goals, here is what the authors of Project 2025 spell out as their “consensus recommendations already forged, especially along four broad fronts that will decide America’s future:”
Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.
Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people.
Defend our nation’s sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats.
Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely—what our Constitution calls “the Blessings of Liberty.”
(https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf - p.36)
If you want to read more about this, without visiting the Project 2025 site, Democracy Forward put together a great primer last June, here: The People's Guide to Project 2025 (democracyforward.org)
Stay focused
No compliance in advance
It is tempting to want to modify behaviour or change course in order to stay in the good graces of authority figures. In order to stay ‘out of trouble’ as it were. But in the face of fascism the only thing to do is NOT COMPLY IN ADVANCE. Until there is a law passed that tells you a change must be made, no changes should be made.
This is the only way we will hold the line on this authoritarian takeover that the administration is trying to complete. Executive orders are not laws. Letters are not laws. Stay strong and keep the phone calls flowing.
If you are looking for an easy way to make those phone calls to your reps, the 5 calls app is for you. It provides phone numbers and scripts to make calling easier. Visit your app store and download, or check out the site first, here: 5 calls
Of Interest
Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) Releases Results from 2024 American Values Atlas
The data nerd in me LOVES a release of survey data, but even more when it comes from PRRI. This latest survey (prri.org) looked at support for Christian Nationalism across the United States.
Take a look at this great discussion of the results and how they interact with and affect our current state of politics in the United States, with Jennifer Rubin and Robert P. Jones: Christian Nationalism Across America (contrarian.substack.com)
Thank you for reading
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