Democracy Out Loud #423.1:Block and build
Reduce harm where possible and create the future we want
Deep breath. The destruction continues at a breathtaking pace. We are being forced to face painful truths and to expand into a collective evolutionary shift.
We all have to discover what our work is and do it. We may find that our work is changing. A great place to start or review is What Can I Do to Fight this Coup? from Choose Democracy.
I am constantly reading to try to make sense of what is happening and how we can take the most strategic action, and the most important thing I found this week is an article by Jess Piper called, “I know exactly what they are doing.” The reason she knows what they are doing is because she lives in Missouri, which like North Carolina has had a GOP supermajority for many years that has been slowly putting 2025 in place. She describes it this way: “Carefully chosen and organized chaos to create the desired effect.,,,,to enable the selling of the country and workers and land to the wealthy.”
She says, “I have witnessed it from the inside….no amount of letter writing has cured my state or persuaded my lawmakers, but one thing has slowed them down…organized action.
“Showing up in numbers that can’t be hidden or explained away. Marching in the streets. Testifying by the hundreds. Making lawmakers accountable with constant contact. Letting them know we see them and we know.
“Public action.
“They want us poor and sick and abused and desperate. They did it in red states and now want the same for the entire United States.
“Refuse them. Throw sand in the gears. Take up space. Get in the way.
“It’s the only way.”
NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
We still have a way to go before we get to “testifying by the hundreds,” but we are moving in the right direction. Mark and his Legislative Response Team continue to track legislation and show up at committee meetings. Email him at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com if you want to join that team.
NC Democrats are sponsoring a rally about DOGE at the NCGA on Wednesday, March 12 from noon to 2 pm. You can get more information and sign up at this link.
March 19, noon to 2 pm, NC Democrats are packing the gallery of the NCGA. You can get more information and sign up at this link.
On Wednesday, March 12 at 7 pm, Red Wine and Blue are sponsoring a class on how the NCGA works. You can get more information and sign up at this link.
The NC Progressive House Caucus now has 10 members! We truly appreciate their leadership.
TOWN HALLS:
Indivisible has put out an extensive tool kit which explains how and why we do town halls.
Everyone: Please look up your US Representative at this link. Make sure they are on speed dial and call them with 5 calls. If your US Representative is Brad Knott (R-13) or Richard Hudson (R-9) and you can help a bit with a town hall, please email us at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com with the subject line “town halls.” Neither of them seem to feel responsible to the constituents in their extremely gerrymandered districts (Knott in green below and Hudson in light blue).
Representative Richard Hudson says that DOGE cuts are “the greatest things that’s happened since I’ve been in Congress” and Republicans are confident that their budget cutting is “on the side of the angels.”
There will be an empty chair Tillis Town Hall in Greensboro on Monday March 17 at 6 pm. You can sign up at this link.
Democracy Out Loud is co-sponsoring an empty chair Tillis Town Hall in Raleigh on Friday March 21 at 6:30pm (see below). You can sign up at this link.
The next protest at the Tesla dealership in Raleigh will be Friday, March 14 from 4 to 6 pm. You can get more information and sign up at this link.
Watch comedienne Sarah Cooper’s “The History of Wealth Throughout History.” It is very short and one of the most brilliant things I have ever seen.
Two things are happening. One has to do with unraveling, unveiling, and destroying. The other, just as apparent, is all of us finding each other, discovering our brilliance and magic, and learning how to build an opposition and create communities of care. Stay strong. Hold steady.
love, Karen
“But beyond the wreckage of empire, something still stirs. What we seed now will shape what rises next.” - W.B. Yeats, quoted by Thanissara in Substack, March 7, 2025
“To counter the forces of alienation and animosity that seek to divide us, we must build a culture of care. By creating as much safety and justice as we can, wherever we are, we will forge bonds that will sustain us in moments of collective resistance and refusal.” Kelly Hayes, The Anti-Empathy Revolution of Elon Musk, March 7, 2025
(both of these are worth reading in their entirety; thank you to Darlene for the one by Kelly Hayes, who wrote Let This Radicalize You with Miriame Kaba)
Check out the Freedom over Fascism toolkit.
Additional sources of information on Substack about actions you can take:
Jessica Craven, Chop Wood Carry Water and Chop Wood, Carry Water NC
Marilyn Hartman, Everyday Election Activism
This is a magnificent article - encouragement going forward, showing support for democracy, justice and caring for others actively! Durham Indivisibles have set a fine example for disturbing those who want to take our country down. Look at Indivisible.org and start your own group!!
For those of us with little knowledge but certain passion for peaceful protest, Karen Ziegler has stood as a beacon for us to learn, try to imitate and hope for small successes which she does provide. This article broadly illustrates her articulate grasp and succinct presentation of where we are and where we can and will go, following her and other progressives protesting the MAGA government in WDC.