Desperation sets in when we are hoping for, but not seeing ANYONE or ANYTHING that can prevent the President from grabbing power that isn’t his. No one can convince Trump not to break the norms or the laws that get in his way. And the most obvious centers of power to hold Trump in check – Congress and the Supreme Court – now in Republican hands, are unwilling to challenge him.
The crisis feels worse with a government shutdown, the brutality of mass deportations and the attempted deployment of troops against major U.S. cities. You might have expected big law firms… or the universities… or the media… or industry and corporate interests could have stood up to the President. Instead, they have often capitulated. Or even collaborated.
Trump’s aim is to subdue civil society by dividing and conquering his opposition. He wants to reward allies and brutally punish enemies. If he can overwhelm and disempower his opponents… if he can create an expectation (self-censorship actually!) wherein people keep their heads down, their mouths shut and comply (because they fear the same from everyone else), Trump might just win.
But, church, there’s never enough guns for even the most brutal dictator to compel the whole populace. Fear is always the authoritarian’s more powerful weapon for quelling resistance and forcing individuals and organizations to submit. The greatest weapon this Administration has is “the fear of inevitability:” if everyone believes Trump will succeed, his chances are much better. That’s a big part of what “flood the zone” is about – making the opposition feel hopeless.
Here’s the good news: Trump can never remake or control American politics without public support… or at least without public acquiescence. There may not be a single force able to stop him (he is afterall the most powerful man in the world!). But politics is a “coordination game:” ultimately, it depends on what the public believes and on what it does.
This political crisis is ALL of ours TOGETHER. It shouldn’t be surprising then that it’s going to take a whole lot of us to solve it. The public can be extraordinarily powerful when it pushes back. (Why else is Jimmy Kimmel back on the air?)
We need a broad, diverse coalition… solidarity among groups who disagree ferociously on many, other questions, but who agree on the need to keep America democratic. People of all stripes who want to rebuild institutions and social connections to undergird our democracy.
We need business interests and the academy, labor and the church, and a politically diverse swath of everyday citizens and political activists. One or two marches won’t be enough. We’re going to need a variety of resistance efforts and an array of different fronts. We need to change the power dynamics; to undermine the pillars of support that hold Trump up. We need each other.
I have to confess, I’ve been disappointed by how quiet the church has been so far. Even the UCC!
Will join me in the ‘No Kings” protest this Saturday? We could march together as Old First… march together as Christians, because the issues on the table, they aren’t just politics. They are about our faith – how we recognize other human beings; how we care for people; the justice we’re called to work for; the love we have to show and to share.
Meet me at 11:30 am in front of Arch Street Methodist (55 North Broad). We can walk together from City Hall to the rally on Independence Mall.
In faith and courage,
Rev. Michael Caine, Old First UCC
Michael is the Senior Pastor of the Old First Reformed United Church of Christ in Old City Philadelphia.