“May you live in interesting times,” states an oft-repeated curse, and we certainly do. Bizarre, confusing, incendiary times, which leave many of us perplexed and angry about why the president of our country, his unelected co-president, and his spineless Republican sycophants think it’s okay to steal taxpayers’ money through illegal and unconstitutional actions while deconstructing and destroying agencies, departments and funding that have contributed to America’s strength and success, such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s biggest funder of biomedical research and widely considered the gold standard for a research-funding agency. What kind of fear drives them? Both were bullied in childhood and had cold, demanding fathers; they seem to be getting revenge and therapy at our expense.

Many people are feeling worried and overwhelmed, but willing to fight back. The volume of outraged backlash may be surprising Trump supporters, but perhaps they are beginning to see that these irresponsible actions are for the sole benefit of the wealthy and power-hungry, and that everyone else is going to suffer collateral damage. Those who didn’t understand how tariffs work nor our interdependence on global trade are facing the reality that they will be paying more for a lot of things:  new and used cars; gas and parts for their vehicles, snowmobiles, and boats; that food prices, already high, could skyrocket and some food products just won’t be available. That Trump’s irrational promise to reduce food costs was just one more lie.

Trump is acting like an arrogant poker player toying with the well-being of our country and world. In his narcissistic view of the world, all he can perceive is his own image, as if surrounded by mirrors, a smirking bully who doesn’t care about the common good for American citizens or anyone else on the planet. He only cares about winning, loyal only to himself and his family — but then only if they do what he wants them to.

This inexplicable attack on Canada, always a strong ally, must make Trump’s mental imbalance obvious to all. Why Canada? Because he didn’t like Trudeau? Because Canadian tariffs annoyed him? Although hard to believe from the amount of mayhem he has caused, he has only been in office two months.

Trump does have one gift — for making a lot of people very, very angry and willing to fight for their values. He has managed to antagonize and unify people across North America and the globe. Righteously angry citizens have been showing up in droves at Republican town halls, local Republican offices, on the streets, and in organizational meetings. 

Over 400 people showed up at Rep. Pete Stauber’s office in Hermantown in February, when 30 protesters was considered a good turnout previously. Even more attended an Indivisible meeting last week in Duluth. Cloquet Indivisible had 70 people show up to sign on Highway 33 in Cloquet in frigid weather on President’s Day, and a few weeks later 250 people showed up at an Indivisible meeting. A local resident said he has never seen anything like it in Carlton County.

Indivisible is described on their website (indivisible.org) as a “grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda. Indivisible’s national team offers strategic leadership, movement coordination, and support to Indivisible activists, and also directly lobbies congress, builds partnerships, runs media campaigns, and develops advocacy strategies. Together we fight to defeat the rightwing takeover of American government and build an inclusive democracy.” 

New Indivisible groups have been popping up all over the Northland including, but not limited to: Northern Progressives, Indivisible affiliate-Cook/Tower/Ely; Duluth Indivisible; Good Trouble Indivisible Duluth; Zenith City Indivisible-Duluth; Indivisible Seniors-Duluth; Arrowhead Indivisible-Grand Marais; Itasca Area Indivisible-Grand Rapids; We the People Cloquet Indivisible-Carlton & St. Louis Counties, We Are Resisting and Rising (W.A.R.R) in Chisholm, and a group is forming in Biwavik/Aurora. 

DAIR (Democracy Alliance of the Iron Range) is a Red Wine and Blue group based in Virginia, which meets virtually. Red Wine and Blue is a national community of over half a million diverse women working together to defeat extremism, one friend at a time. They train and connect women from across the country and have free online training every week, which a local activist says is excellent. As with other national groups, you can find a group near you by going online to their website, redwine.blue.org.

All of these groups are in Congressional District 08, and Rep. Pete Stauber and his aides are hearing a lot from angry constituents about his failure to represent them, stand up against the Republican atrocities, or do anything, ever, for our district in his five years in office.

The grassroots 50501 effort got its start from a Reddit post in late January, urging people to protest the “anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.” The idea of 50 protests in 50 states on one day spread rapidly through social media, resulting in 72,000 people protesting in 80 protests in all 50 states across the country on Feb. 5. With no budget, centralized structure, or official backing, this grassroots action shows the organizing power we have as citizens with social media fueling communication and rapid responses. On Feb. 17, tens of thousands of Americans declared “No Kings Day” and protested, and March 4 brought another wave of protests. The website fiftyfifty.one states, “The protests were covered by every major media outlet, showing the world that the American working class will not sit idly by as plutocrats rip apart their democratic institutions and civil liberties while undermining the rule of law.” 50501 is committed to inclusivity, non-violence, and conflict resolution. Their approach emphasizes respect, fairness, and long-term solutions that strengthen relationships and contribute to lasting stability in the movement.

MoveOn.Org is another very active national group that supports candidates, fights to pass legislation, and works to change our culture. Their website explains, “MoveOn members are committed to an inclusive and progressive future. We envision a world marked by equality, sustainability, justice, and love. And we mobilize together to achieve it. This is our challenge to America: to move forward boldly and fearlessly, upholding and enacting the values that will make our country work for all of us.

Americans of Conscience Checklist (americansofconscience.com) is a national group with a mission to provide tools that encourage engagement to strengthen American democracy and social justice. They send out a weekly list of actions you can take, from postcards to protests.

You can also track the status of any legislation, find the text, and receive emails about the progress of the legislation at govtrack.us.

The Fivecalls app is another very useful resource to make it easy to reach out to your elected officials to let them know your concerns about issues and their action or inaction. The app includes information on current legislation that affects your area as well as tips for making effective calls.

Getting involved is empowering, and you don’t have to do it alone. Find a group near you that’s a good fit and join in with your neighbors to cause some good trouble.  Confused by all the options? Go to mobilize.us, enter your zip code, and see all the registered upcoming events in your area.