aside Civic Engagement Is One Positive Outcome Of President Trump In The WH

The republican President Donald Trump has done something very positive for the USA. He has motivated millions who were never involved in political activism to get off the sidelines to start being civic minded. It used to be that when the Washington D.C. legislators used to return home to their state districts to meet with constituents, they would be lucky to see a few peoples but now they are facing crowds of 100s.

When major legislation has been in the works like the recent republican led repeal and replace of Obamacare, the legislators phones were ringing off the hooks. It had gotten to the point that some cowardly lawmakers had been refusing to hold town hall meetings because they were fearful of the large crowds and the phones became so busy, that folks couldn’t get through to even leave a message.

The major marches that have been started by non Trump voters at the grass roots level have been very well attended, and not just in Washington D.C. but in cities around this country and around the world. This includes the Women’s March, the Tax March and the recent Science March.

Here are resources for resisters:

The main US Senate phone line 202-225-3121 (202-224-3121) or  YOU CAN FIND PHONE NUMBERS FOR EVERY SENATOR HERE. 

Find Your Representative · House.gov – U.S. House of Representatives

Michael Moore’s Calendar of resistance events’ reference: https://www.resistancecalendar.org

“The Michael Moore Easy-to-Follow 10-Point Plan to Stop Trump.”

This is the how to manual that Senator Marco Rubio was probably denouncing: THE INDIVISIBLE GUIDE: Read the text of the how-to anti-Trump manual

Here is the rest of the story…

On 4/24/17 Eric Liu as a guest writer for the Washington Post penned the following op-ed piece, “Trump’s most striking accomplishment so far.”

Eric Liu, founder of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship & American Identity Program, is the author of “You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen.”

Image result for images of town hall meetings with legislators
Townhall meeting

“As Donald Trump approaches the 100th day of his presidency, let’s give him credit: He has sparked one of the greatest surges of American citizen action in half a century. Indeed, this burst of civic renewal may be more enduring than anything else he has done in his chaotic first months on the job.”

“For decades, civic educators and activists have wondered what it would take to get a greater number of Americans more involved in self-government. All it took, it turns out, was a bombastic, authoritarian, nativist president whose erratic behavior and executive overreach made him a vivid threat to democratic norms and the Constitution.”

“All across the country, in red and blue precincts alike, many Americans are for the first time joining civic clubs, publishing newsletters, creating political reading groups, organizing rallies, lobbying lawmakers and relearning the basics of how a bill becomes a law — or how a court can block an executive order.”

Image result for images of science marches“To be sure, President Trump didn’t intend to generate this civic surge. And he tries at every turn and in every tweet to play down or discredit it. But it nonetheless is the most concrete way that Trump thus far has made America great again: He has awakened millions of people to become active participants in civic life rather than passive spectators.”

Image result for images of town hall meetings with legislators“Though much of the new civic engagement is negative — activated, that is, by a desire to resist or block Trump and his agenda — there is no question that Americans left and right are developing civic muscles that can be put to many uses for many years.”

“Indeed, it’s important that many agendas emerge. A single centralizing force such as Trump is best neutralized not with a single source of opposition but with a swarm of countervailing forces, like antibodies to a virus or Lilliputians to a Gulliver.”

Image result for images of science marches“This is why libertarians are speaking out against Trump’s casual but menacing suggestions that protest be punishable or the rights of criminal suspects abridged. Meanwhile, social justice progressives and pro-business conservatives both are pushing back as Trump officials propose capping legal immigration. And frustrated Trump voters are organizing to hold their man to his “America First” pledge as he gets the United States more entangled in conflicts abroad.”

“All across the political spectrum, people are taking this opportunity — now that we are appreciating anew the importance of civics class — to hold public debates in every setting possible about the balance of responsibilities between citizen and state.”

Image result for images of science marches“Most of all, this is a moment for people on the left and right alike to find common interest in strengthening the habits of local self-government. Calling members of Congress is great. Sharing email alerts about the president is necessary. But as the ACLU’s #peoplepower campaign has been showing in thousands of local gatherings, we all can have far more direct civic impact by becoming literate in the power structures of our own cities, counties and states.”

Image result for images of science marches“The framers of the Constitution knew that local militias, rooted in their communities, were motivated to defend liberty not as an abstraction but as a face-to-face experience. We are seeing today the spontaneous emergence of networks that are like civic militias: locally rooted webs of citizen lawyers, citizen journalists, citizen scientists, citizen artists and citizen preachers, self-organizing to defend freedom on a moment’s notice.”

“We have (President) Trump to thank for this. We can show him our gratitude by further limiting his ability to do harm — and further bolstering our ability to repair the republic.”

7 comments

  1. All politicians work for the ppl, we should never let them forget it! Their every action, decision, and speech has to be held to the highest scrutiny, and be transparently and fairly reviewed by all media sources.
    The ppl should have the right to make our own decisions, not ordered by a dictator to swallow his agenda without question.
    From that standpoint, it’s a very good thing that citizens are finally taking responsibility and engaging civic activism, and holding the president to task. I would love to see more protests and marches, like they routinely do in Europe, and start involving our youngest kids so everyone can be informed about our Constitutional rights and civic duties as responsible citizens.

    Like

    • Dear 1EarthUnited,

      More and more peoples are getting involved. Enough issues cut across party lines. I personally have met some of the nicest folks at the marches and resistance groups like local Indivisible units.

      Somehow folks feel better if they are doing something, anything.

      It looks like the republicans are at it again to ram through another health care plan in the near future.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Like

  2. Gronda, this is a marvelous post, very inspiring. This quote says it all to me:

    “He (Trump) has sparked one of the greatest surges of American citizen action in half a century. Indeed, this burst of civic renewal may be more enduring than anything else he has done in his chaotic first months on the job.”

    Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Keith,

      This is the one positive outcome of the DDT presidency. News TV viewing and newspaper readership is up. People are becoming more knowledgeable and politically involved.
      We all have our work cut out for us.

      Ciao, Gronda

      Like

      • That is indeed a positive. We need to get that 40% fan base watching and reading real news, as well. His tax plan benefits the wealthy most, increases debt, but you would not know that if you just listened to the President and his M boys, Mnuchin and Mulvaney.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Yes! I love this. President Pumpkinhead is finally being viewed from a positive perspective. I knew he couldn’t be all bad, even though he is trying to both give me environmentally induced cancer and at the same time taking away the healthcare insurances that might pay for saving me from it. Somebody with that much orange clown paint on his face has to be worth more than a few chuckles of gallows humor.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Authormbeyer,

      Your commentary is right on the mark. There is an upside to this if a lot of us learn the lesson that we have to take an active role in our politics even if this means spending less time watching sports, playing games on the computer or on the couch watching TV..

      Ciao, Gronda

      Liked by 1 person

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