While the Defiance keeps growing, here's an argument for moving from mass protest to lots of face-to-face engagement with people who *aren't* already in motion.
I was a student at U of M Ann Arbor and involved in that first teach in on the Vietnam War. It was exhilarating. What we did NOT have then was well-processed Alt Facts on Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, websites. I can't imagine being able to do that today. I wish it not so.
I agree fully and would like to beat a dead horse again on the lack of Patriotism by the left (as the author mentions, flying the Vietnam flag was a massive fail for them at the time.) why does the left cede Patriotism and love of country to the right? How hard is it to love our nation but hate our leaders?
This quote, attributed to Mark Twain, is where the left needs to be, but often can't seem to get there (see flying Mexican flags in CA).
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
I, like several in these comments, am out of that '60s era movement building. So much of what we did was trying to give people an information base from which to move into more specific campaigns with tactical (and eventually strategic) action. Contemporary media give everyone the illusion that we all know all we need to know to place ourselves within the space of political contestation (all arenas). This isn't true.
Thinking about the Foley Square action you advertise: some of those fired EPA folks should be offering "why we need an EPA" meeting/zoom/class/whatever so that there's an ed component available. And then you try to grow that outward.
We're trying to engage in mass action without a developed sense of 1) where we are and 2) where we are going. It's early days.
Vietnam was so different from our current struggle. Back then, college students were on the front lines - they were being drafted to fight - so they were eager to learn more about a distant country they had never studied, where they might die young.
Trump's mass deportation plan has put Latin American immigrants on the front lines - along with their families and communities. The lawless repression of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Los Angeles have awakened Latin American communities - we can see a dramatic change in the recent Gallup poll. Front-line education is taking place organically through conversations on and off the Internet, fueled by a never-ending stream of ICE videos and commentaries.
Sending white, privileged, college-educated resistance activists to knock doors in Latino immigrant communities is obviously silly. As with Vietnam, they already know what's at stake because they're on the front line.
So which other communities should resistance activists try to persuade? They could start with their own family and friends. Not solid MAGA Trumpers, but those who stayed home or voted for Trump because of the anti-Harris "vibe."
These conversations could begin with a question like: "is Trump doing anything that makes you angry?" They might cite mass deportations, or letting Elon Musk slash essential government services, or deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, or doing nothing to reduce costs, or 100 other horrendous actions.
As resistance organizers, our job is to agree with those objections, and encourage them to oppose Trump and his Republican enablers.
Excellent and so well timed and needed at this pivotal moment in the the growth of the "Resistance." In Anand Giridharadas' book, The Persuaders, there is an excellent chapter on "deep canvassing," which Micah mentioned as one of the effective proven methods of bringing the neutrals and the passive opponents ( those one notch over on the spectrum of allies) over to our side. Also it is important to add, that the more "our side" can become a true welcoming comunity with real solidarity, the more attractive and effective that persuasion process will be.
I encourage people to google and AI "Deep Canvassing." Even if only a tiny fraction of us (say 10,000) succeed using this highly effective (but time consuming craft, requiring a bit of pratice and patience ) with only two people who otherwise would stay neutral and uninvolved or worse, the ripple or exponential effect (each person then persuading two of their friends or family, who in turn persuade 2 or more of their friends or family, and so on and so forth) can in just 4-8 weeks lead to bringing a million more people into our ranks. Hence the sooner we start doing this--this week, not next!--the far bigger the effect.
Asking Perplexity.ai which organizations have been most effective and creating common ground and transcending polarization, they came up with the organizations mentioned in this chart, the first four of which (though I am not personally endorsing any) have impressive stats as to their effectiveness:
Summary Table: Data-Backed Effectiveness
Organization Quantitative Data Qualitative/Longitudinal Data Independent Evaluation
[ZOOM OUT OR IN IF THIS TABLE DOES NOT DISPLAY CLEARLY]
Braver Angels Yes Yes Yes
Resetting the Table Yes Yes Yes
Tri-Faith Initiative Yes Yes Yes
Faith to Action Network Yes Yes Yes
One America Movement Limited. Yes Yes
Interfaith America Yes Yes. Yes
Multi-Faith Neighbors Network Limited Yes Not found
Catholic Common Ground No Yes Not found
Braver Angels, Resetting the Table, Tri-Faith Initiative, Faith to Action Network, and Interfaith America all provide published quantitative data and/or independent evaluations demonstrating the effectiveness of their methods.
Lots of pioneering work in helping polarized churches find common ground was also done by Gerald Partain and Rev Cyle Young, and the True North Projecr.
Finally lead organizations training people in the craft of deep canvassing is OMPI (the Open Mind Policy Institute", founded by David Fleischer, and the Deep Canvass Istitute (Deepcanvass.org)
People's action is I believe the only large membership organization that has integrated it into their grassroots organizing model.
One final and important perspective: As Howard Zinn so eloquently pointed out in his fantastic moral boosting essay, "The optimism of uncertainty," the future can often surprise us, despite how depressing or dark it seems in the moment, with a confluence of unpredictable surprising events that suddenly open up opportunities for people, heretofore closed to us, now more open, due to doubts these new events have planted in their hearts and minds (eg Trump's hypocirisy over the Epstein Files, Musk's plans for a third party, and who knows what additional chinks or cracks in illusion will happen tomorrow.
I like this piece and agree with just about everything you're saying, but that last sentence of the "Blast from the Past" section left me a little frustrated: "we must get out of our comfort zones and talk with people who aren’t already with us, and do it not just as isolated volunteers working through a call list, but as part of something bigger." I felt like I was left hanging; if you could have added just 1 or 2 more paragraphs detailing what that "something bigger" looks like - i.e., outlined an actual strategy for reaching out beyond our comfort zone - it would've made for a more satisfying article. Nevertheless - thank you for the good points being made here.
Can't tell you how strongly I agree with the fundamental message of this post. Will be sharing it with lots of folks.
I was a student at U of M Ann Arbor and involved in that first teach in on the Vietnam War. It was exhilarating. What we did NOT have then was well-processed Alt Facts on Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, websites. I can't imagine being able to do that today. I wish it not so.
I agree fully and would like to beat a dead horse again on the lack of Patriotism by the left (as the author mentions, flying the Vietnam flag was a massive fail for them at the time.) why does the left cede Patriotism and love of country to the right? How hard is it to love our nation but hate our leaders?
This quote, attributed to Mark Twain, is where the left needs to be, but often can't seem to get there (see flying Mexican flags in CA).
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
- Mark Twain
Also, for the love God, stop postcarding 😎
This is good on left and patriotism https://open.substack.com/pub/theliberalpatriot/p/will-left-populists-embrace-patriotism?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=zi4f
I, like several in these comments, am out of that '60s era movement building. So much of what we did was trying to give people an information base from which to move into more specific campaigns with tactical (and eventually strategic) action. Contemporary media give everyone the illusion that we all know all we need to know to place ourselves within the space of political contestation (all arenas). This isn't true.
Thinking about the Foley Square action you advertise: some of those fired EPA folks should be offering "why we need an EPA" meeting/zoom/class/whatever so that there's an ed component available. And then you try to grow that outward.
We're trying to engage in mass action without a developed sense of 1) where we are and 2) where we are going. It's early days.
Vietnam was so different from our current struggle. Back then, college students were on the front lines - they were being drafted to fight - so they were eager to learn more about a distant country they had never studied, where they might die young.
Trump's mass deportation plan has put Latin American immigrants on the front lines - along with their families and communities. The lawless repression of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Los Angeles have awakened Latin American communities - we can see a dramatic change in the recent Gallup poll. Front-line education is taking place organically through conversations on and off the Internet, fueled by a never-ending stream of ICE videos and commentaries.
Sending white, privileged, college-educated resistance activists to knock doors in Latino immigrant communities is obviously silly. As with Vietnam, they already know what's at stake because they're on the front line.
So which other communities should resistance activists try to persuade? They could start with their own family and friends. Not solid MAGA Trumpers, but those who stayed home or voted for Trump because of the anti-Harris "vibe."
These conversations could begin with a question like: "is Trump doing anything that makes you angry?" They might cite mass deportations, or letting Elon Musk slash essential government services, or deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, or doing nothing to reduce costs, or 100 other horrendous actions.
As resistance organizers, our job is to agree with those objections, and encourage them to oppose Trump and his Republican enablers.
Spot on. I would like to see Zoom trainings on what to say to people we disagree with. Strategies, role play, messaging, on a variety of topics.
Fabulous take on things, and spot on. Thank you for always being a part of the momentum, inside and out.
Excellent and so well timed and needed at this pivotal moment in the the growth of the "Resistance." In Anand Giridharadas' book, The Persuaders, there is an excellent chapter on "deep canvassing," which Micah mentioned as one of the effective proven methods of bringing the neutrals and the passive opponents ( those one notch over on the spectrum of allies) over to our side. Also it is important to add, that the more "our side" can become a true welcoming comunity with real solidarity, the more attractive and effective that persuasion process will be.
I encourage people to google and AI "Deep Canvassing." Even if only a tiny fraction of us (say 10,000) succeed using this highly effective (but time consuming craft, requiring a bit of pratice and patience ) with only two people who otherwise would stay neutral and uninvolved or worse, the ripple or exponential effect (each person then persuading two of their friends or family, who in turn persuade 2 or more of their friends or family, and so on and so forth) can in just 4-8 weeks lead to bringing a million more people into our ranks. Hence the sooner we start doing this--this week, not next!--the far bigger the effect.
Asking Perplexity.ai which organizations have been most effective and creating common ground and transcending polarization, they came up with the organizations mentioned in this chart, the first four of which (though I am not personally endorsing any) have impressive stats as to their effectiveness:
Summary Table: Data-Backed Effectiveness
Organization Quantitative Data Qualitative/Longitudinal Data Independent Evaluation
[ZOOM OUT OR IN IF THIS TABLE DOES NOT DISPLAY CLEARLY]
Braver Angels Yes Yes Yes
Resetting the Table Yes Yes Yes
Tri-Faith Initiative Yes Yes Yes
Faith to Action Network Yes Yes Yes
One America Movement Limited. Yes Yes
Interfaith America Yes Yes. Yes
Multi-Faith Neighbors Network Limited Yes Not found
Catholic Common Ground No Yes Not found
Braver Angels, Resetting the Table, Tri-Faith Initiative, Faith to Action Network, and Interfaith America all provide published quantitative data and/or independent evaluations demonstrating the effectiveness of their methods.
Lots of pioneering work in helping polarized churches find common ground was also done by Gerald Partain and Rev Cyle Young, and the True North Projecr.
Finally lead organizations training people in the craft of deep canvassing is OMPI (the Open Mind Policy Institute", founded by David Fleischer, and the Deep Canvass Istitute (Deepcanvass.org)
People's action is I believe the only large membership organization that has integrated it into their grassroots organizing model.
One final and important perspective: As Howard Zinn so eloquently pointed out in his fantastic moral boosting essay, "The optimism of uncertainty," the future can often surprise us, despite how depressing or dark it seems in the moment, with a confluence of unpredictable surprising events that suddenly open up opportunities for people, heretofore closed to us, now more open, due to doubts these new events have planted in their hearts and minds (eg Trump's hypocirisy over the Epstein Files, Musk's plans for a third party, and who knows what additional chinks or cracks in illusion will happen tomorrow.
I like this piece and agree with just about everything you're saying, but that last sentence of the "Blast from the Past" section left me a little frustrated: "we must get out of our comfort zones and talk with people who aren’t already with us, and do it not just as isolated volunteers working through a call list, but as part of something bigger." I felt like I was left hanging; if you could have added just 1 or 2 more paragraphs detailing what that "something bigger" looks like - i.e., outlined an actual strategy for reaching out beyond our comfort zone - it would've made for a more satisfying article. Nevertheless - thank you for the good points being made here.