This is not a news site. I’m not going to aggregate or discuss every new twist and turn that happens either around the globe or in the Trump administration. Partly, because that would drive me insane. I’d rather focus on things that are positive. Partly because there’s going to be a non-stop barrage of bad news for the next four years (at least) and that’s all I’d ever have time to write about. But I did want to take a moment to address one aspect of all this that is very close to my heart: despair. More specifically, what we can do about that feeling of helplessness that comes with the overwhelm.

# The firehose

So the news this weekend has been particularly bleak. First, an unelected South African billionaire who publicly exhibits signs of ketamine addiction has taken over the U.S. Treasury. Stories are already circulating that he’s ordered payments stopped to U.S. government contractors—we’ll see how that works out.

And just to keep the firehose going, Trump also announced 25% tariffs on goods from both Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, to go into effect Tuesday.

Anyone who thinks that other countries pay tariffs needs to look up how tariffs work; they are in effect a regressive tax on Americans who buy those goods, meaning it hurts most the people who can afford it least. Trump knows this, he just doesn’t care. He shrugs off that “it may cause short term pain,” but y’know, he’s rich, so it’s all good, right? Even the pro-Republican, right wing Wall Street Journal has called Trump’s tariffs “the dumbest trade war in history.”

# Game over, man, game over

There’s a lot of smarter people than me who have said lots of smarter things that I’d be able to say about the politics, the constitutional and legal issues involved, the likely court cases, and so on. That’s not my point.

My point is that in talking about this with a friend who was extremely panicked that social security check payments are about to end for all Americans, when I asked what he thought we should do, he said “there’s nothing we can do. It’s over.”

That is the exact attitude that tyrants rely upon for their tyranny to succeed. All this “front loading” of destroying of national and global norms, of gutting the government, of demonizing vulnerable minorities, of acting belligerent and starting wars and beating their fascist drum about territorial expansion, it’s designed to overload the system, to overwhelm, to keep those who oppose the tyrant feeling so hopeless, that resistance never forms.

# It ain’t over ’til it’s over

It’s easy to feel hopeless when everything seems bigger than we are. The mechanisms of governmental power are extremely distant from most of us. We’re not billionaires. As much as we may wish to flee America for a more democratic and reasonable country, few of us have the money, the employment waiting, the wherewithal to just pick up and go.

But you know what? It could be worse. There aren’t tanks currently rolling down American streets, with red-hatted thugs dragging people out of their homes. The trade wars have yet to cause global recessions. And even though the major legacy and social media outlets have been bought, sold, and paid for by the billionaire oligarchs, we can still talk to each other freely other ways.

You know what that means? We can be engaged. We can resist. And together, we can enact change.

# How to resist: a primer

There are some fantastic resources and discussions going on right now, on blogs and places like Bluesky. Here are just a few of the things that we as individuals can do:

## Be aware

Don’t doomscroll. Protect your mental health. Give yourself “news blackout” days, enjoy friends and family and hobbies, etc. But don’t disengage either. Know what’s going on. Talk about it with others. Be honest and open about why you feel something is bad; many good people may not understand how something may hurt them (for example, tariffs).

## Document everything

Obviously this goes tenfold if you are a federal employee. But if at any point, you are asked to do something that you feel infringes on your or someone else’s rights, would harm people, and/or that might eventually be considered illegal or overturned by a court, document it. Don’t just capitulate.

## Protect your friends

There are already “snitch lines” for turning in trans people, and that’s just the beginning, I’m sure. As of today, you don’t know any trans people. You can’t stop the government from making it illegal to be trans in the USA, to break up families, but you also don’t have to help enforce it.

## Pick winners

In America’s two-party system, the Democratic party offers the only chance at opposing the tyrants in control. There are lots of sayings like “Democrats need to fall in love, while Republicans fall in line,” that “Democrats want to be right while Republicans want to win,” and so on. True or not, what is true is that unless the Democrats win, they can’t resist the tyranny.

So rather than waiting for someone who perfectly espouses what we might believe, or who we absolutely adore and would love to see in office, we need to coldly, logically assess who has the best chance of getting elected and back them with everything we’ve got to give. Once they win, then we can start lobbying them with our personal preferences. But if they don’t win, that leaves the tyrants in power, and we get nothing.

## Join national movements

I have no idea if at any point there will be enough of a resistance in the United States to call a general strike, or to otherwise engage in millions-strong acts of civil disobedience. But if there are, we can join them. To me, saving the sanctity, the soul, the vulnerable of our nation is the most patriotic thing we can do.

# Party on, Wayne!

So that’s it. That’s all I got. Stay healthy. Laugh. Enjoy movies. Kiss your partner and kids and pets and smile and tell jokes. And don’t give up. That’s what they want you to do. Don’t give them the satisfaction.

I remember an interview with Andrew Eldritch, lead singer of The Sisters of Mercy. He was asked what kept him making records. “Spite,” he said. He was being snarky, but there’s a valuable point there—don’t let the bastards win. Be proud to resist. Be punk rock about it. Don’t let them steal your soul. They can’t take that unless you let them. And you know what? I’m too damn spiteful to let them have mine.