Neutrality is Not an Option
We All Must Move from the Sidelines to the Frontlines
Welcome to the Civic Way journal, our quick take on the relevance of current events to America’s future governance. The author, Bob Melville, is the founder of Civic Way, a nonprofit dedicated to good government, and a management consultant with over 45 years of experience improving public agencies.
In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. – Albert Camus
A Time to Choose
Trump is proud of his infamous mug shot. He even defiled the White House by having it hung just outside the oval office. For many of us, this glowering image serves as a vivid reminder of his endless rage and insatiable vindictiveness. It conveys all we must know about Trump’s aims.
The 1920s or 1890s? The Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement never specified the era when America was “great,” but it may be coming into focus. The MAGA Wayback Machine recalls the start of the Civil War. A time when the US was young and, but for the Atlantic Ocean, virtually defenseless.
In 1861, shortly after seceding from the union, Alexander Stephens, the Confederacy’s vice president, vowed, "Our new government … rests upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man. We … will become the controlling power on this continent.” Lincoln defeated the Confederacy, but Trump seems determined to destroy the very union that Lincoln preserved.
We can now see Trump’s goal more clearly than ever (Trump’s Payback Presidency), but how shall we stop him? We know what not to do (I Would Prefer Not To). There are many groups taking the fight to Trump, but many of us remain on the sidelines, trying to decide what to do as individuals. We suggest five strategies: 1) Seek and Learn, 2) Stand Your Ground, 3) Support Nonpartisan Advocates, 4) Support Partisan Advocates and 5) Help Build a Better America. More below.
Seek and Learn
We should start with some humility. Open our minds to new information and ideas. Accept that many who support democracy see other political issues quite differently. Discard any biases that limit our ability to welcome others to the fight for democracy.
We must seek facts about democracy and the fight to preserve it. We should broaden our search from our go-to sources to reputable, fact-based media outlets that support democracy, such as the following:
TV and radio broadcast outlets (e.g., ABC, BBC, CBS, NBC, NPR).
News services (e.g., AP, New York Times, Reuters and Wall Street Journal).
Periodicals (e.g., 1440, Atlantic, Economist, Forbes, Foreign Affairs, Hill, Nation, National Review, Newsweek, New Yorker, Politico, ProPublica, The Marshall Project and Weekly Standard).
Podcasts (e.g., BBC’s Global News Podcast, Bulwark Podcast, Left, Right & Center, MeidasTouch Network, NPR Up First, NYT’s The Daily, Pod Save America and WSJ’s The Journal).
Fact check sources (e.g., AP Fact Check, Ballotpedia, FactCheck.org, Lead Stories,
Media Bias Fact Check, OpenSecrets.Org, PolitiFact, sunlightfoundation.com and USA Facts).Thinktanks (e.g., American Enterprise Institute, Bipartisan Policy Center, Cato Institute, Center for American Progress, Pew Research Center, Reason Foundation and Third Way).
Other documents (e.g., Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and resistance handbooks[i]).
We will all benefit from a fuller understanding of the threats and opportunities. Trump’s impact on alliances, security, economies, deficits and essential services. Ways to strengthen our democracy (e.g., voting and gerrymandering). The strengths and weaknesses of government and other vital institutions.
Stand Your Ground
To channel our disgust into constructive action, we must each become the dogged pro-democracy activist that this moment demands. Cultivate new relationships, including Trump voters who regret their error. Find common ground, including shared values, ideals and hopes. Join others who cherish America’s possibilities.
Participate in constructive protests, especially local, grassroots rallies grounded in community issues that will help grow local pro-democracy networks[ii].
Contact elected federal, state and local officials[iii], establish relationships with their staff and attend town hall meetings and other local forums.
Become a patriotic consumer (e.g., buy used, local and less, and always buy necessities from or through businesses that refuse to appease MAGA[iv]).
Support other entities that are fighting back against the Trump administration’s bullying, including nonprofits, universities and law firms[v].
There is no time to persuade the unpersuadable. As Cormac McCarthy wrote in No Country for Old Men, some part of us wants “to pull everybody back in the boat.” Sadly, we cannot save the MAGA cultists and “Fox pox” victims until they are ready. All we can do is accept their inability to think for themselves and embrace them when they decide to exorcise the MAGA virus.
Support Nonpartisan Pro-Democracy Advocates
We are stronger together than we are apart. That is why we must join—and give our time and money to—nonprofits that promote community and democratic values.
· Determine the most suitable nonprofit(s) to support, for example, those with missions and skill needs aligned with our goals and capabilities.
Explore volunteer opportunities, review relevant volunteer guides (e.g., ACLU’s volunteer website) and volunteer our time to the pro-democracy nonprofit where we can have the biggest impact.
Join a local nonpartisan civic entity that focuses on improving our communities (e.g., civic engagement, voter education, healthcare, social service, housing and faith-based initiatives)[vi].
Support local efforts to improve local government (e.g., improve schools and other services, revitalize cities and towns, reduce waste and acceleratecapital projects).
Support pro-democracy entities which challenge Trump in court[vii] and give judges a chance to protect the Constitution and rule of law[viii].
Help build the nonprofit pro-democracy news ecosystem by donating or subscribing to emerging media outlets (e.g., ProPublica) and becoming a nonprofit journalist/documenter.
It is by becoming part of something bigger that we can help win the fight for democracy. It is by stepping into the arena with others that, together, we will become too formidable to fail.
Support Partisan Pro-Democracy Advocates
Ultimately, the fight for democracy will hinge on our ability to win elections. And, given the MAGA crowd’s unwillingness to accept narrow losses, we will have to win elections decisively. This will require all of us— Democrats, Republicans and Independents—to give time and money to partisan pro-democracy candidates and groups in primary and general elections.
In addition to winning elections, we must use federalism to resist unlawful federal action. Under our constitution, states possess exceptional powers, and blue states can exercise those powers to stop unlawful directives. Blue states—where Democrats dominate state government—account for nearly half of the nation’s population and economic output and about 2/3 of our pension assets[ix].
We should strongly support state leaders who aggressively oppose anti-democracy efforts. We also should urge them to leverage their economic clout against the Trump’s ruthless assault on our constitution. Absorb critical government functions gutted by DOGE[x]. Fund multistate compacts with similar states[xi]. Invest pension assets in pro-democracy equities. Fund state attorneys general as needed to challenge federal abuses in court[xii].
We must help pro-democracy candidates win elections in 2025 and 2026. Judicial candidates at all levels who will defend the rule of law. Local candidates who will fight to protect their communities from MAGA’s anti-democracy crusade. Support pro-democracy candidates in every district and election and, if necessary, run for office ourselves. Democracy is too precious to leave a single race uncontested.
Help Build a Better America
Finally, we must do what we largely failed to do during Trump’s first term, develop a blueprint for rebuilding post-Trump America. A plan for constructively addressing the worries of most Americans regardless of their political persuasion. An agenda for realizing America’s promise.
Everyone one of us has something to offer. At the very least, we can help define the problems undermining public faith in government. The conditions that hurt American families. The systemic threats to our democracy, economic opportunity and quality of life. The failures that jeopardize our competitiveness. The forces that divide us and the barriers to cooperation.
We should offer our ideas for improving America. Using a digital platform, a trusted national entity should collect, synthesize and organize the best ideas around major themes (e.g., democracy, freedom[xiii] and opportunity). With substantial input from ordinary Americans, this entity should then develop a detailed, consensus-driven America Bestagenda to guide the next administration[xiv]. This agenda also should include messages and strategies for garnering broad popular support.
Defeating the New Confederacy
This is our moral moment. It’s not left or right, it's right or wrong. – Cory Booker
We are witnessing something much worse than a constitutional crisis. It is a war against the world order and US Constitution, and a betrayal of our Declaration of Independence. And the traditional guardrails—Congress, courts, institutions, corporations, colleges, media and parties—seem unable or unwilling to protect what so many of our ancestors gave their lives to defend.
Trump is taking the Musk chain saw to America. Bellicose tariffs, unprovoked attacks on friends like Canada, and a bitter assault on the European Union. The appointment of groveling mediocrities to critical defense and intelligence jobs. The bizarre firings of respected national security officials. The erosion of crucial cyber defenses and reckless leaks of vital military data.
Trump 2.0 is exponentially more dangerous than Trump 1.0. During his first term, Trump often made America a punchline. This time, he is doing everything he can to make us an insecure third world nation. A nation that shirks its moral obligations to the very world order it so painstakingly created. A nation that declares a trade war—and upends the global economy—on an aspiring tyrant’s whim.
We can find charismatic leaders, but we cannot wait to be saved by them. People—not leaders and institutions—must act now to stop the madness. As more Trump voters recognize their horrific error, they will join those Americans who weren’t fooled. And as we welcome them to the fight, the resistance will spread. Together, Americans of all political stripes will unite to save our Constitution and democracy.
Some resistance efforts will fail, some will succeed, and some will fail at first only to succeed later. Progress often follows setbacks. Reformers—abolitionists, suffragettes and freedom riders—have usually faced daunting odds, but we can overcome those odds. Like Rosa Parks, we can prepare for the moment and then seize the opportunity.
As Lincoln recognized 165 years ago, the best way to stop a tyrant is to defeat him decisively. During the Civil War, the Union won that fight on the battlefield. This time, we must win on Main Street, on Wall Street, in the media, and at the polls. Victory—not appeasement—is our only hope.
Great post!
A moral moment indeed. Thanks again for a great post.