Anything They Can Do We Can Do Better
And… go!
Above, a very rough draft of the cartoon idea about regular private citizens also taking an oath next to a spouse in a silly hat
Are we resisting or not, people?
Local Pestering
The operative word here is "local.” Do you have a coworker you know voted for Trump? Email that person and ask them if they would mind going with you to your gynecological appointment this week because you’d like their input. Ask them how long they think federal law will allow them to wear blouses like that at their age? Allow them to offer ideas in meetings, but make them pay you $25 for each idea. Laugh and assure them you’re just teasing, but do collect the money.
Secret Cells
The hardest part of mounting effective political action is organization and communication. Enter the alphabet.
If your last name begins with an A, you’re in the Aristotelian Cell, which asks MAGA people open-ended philosophy questions to help them learn to think better. “To what extent are joy and contentment dependent on external circumstances?”
If your last name starts with B, you’re in the Bucolic Cell, which demonstrates and encourages outdoor pursuits —picnics, sweaty hikes to mountain summits, sitting in the warm sun, bees and flies and gnats and dragonflies buzzing and bobbing around you.
If your last name starts with C, you are in the Constitution Cell, which calmly corrects wild a-constitutional decrees.
And so forth, all the way to the Zagablione Cell, whose charge is self-evident.
The MLK Method
Review: nonviolent resistance is a sword that only works in the hands of the righteous because its power is in creating tableaux of visible moral superiority:
children vs. police dogs
unarmed men vs. firehoses
graceful women in maxi dresses vs. helmeted and vested riot police
sweetly kneeling biracial football players vs. sneering “patriots” who holler about a song and “respect” for a national symbol being more important than justice and respect for human life
Very well-informed women lawyers dispassionately answering questions accurately on the steps of the Capitol about the issue of the day vs NYTimes headlines
You, wearing a white angora sweater vest, standing as close as possible next to the worst person you can find doing or saying something evil or dumb. Tilt head, smile softly, clear throat.
The Shadow Government
Just because you lost an election doesn’t mean you should go away. Erect a shadow White House! It can even be built as a replica of the real White House, but slightly larger and nicer and carbon neutral. Make speeches from the Iris Garden. Have a press corp and answer all their questions honestly and to the best of your ability.
Whenever the Trump administration or Republican congress or Supreme Court make an announcement or major move, you counter with better ones of your own.
Trump withdrawals from a treaty or important international organization? No worries: the shadow administration steps in and represents the nation’s interests very publicly and admirably.
When they have a state dinner for Australia, you also throw a state dinner for Australia but serve way better food and have more interesting guests who are better dressed and wittier. Livestream it.
My last name begins with a W. I hope W stands for WOKE which means I am automatically an enemy of the current administration. I respectfully suggest that you somehow modify your delightful cartoon by adding the Bible on which trump is afraid to place his hand lest lightning strike him dead. I thought that was the most striking visual in the swearing-in.
My white vest is wool, not argyle. May I please please wear it anyway? I am on a fixed (by my husband) income and can't afford to buy a new vest. 🥲🙏
This brought me such joy.