Right now, the US is matching the steps of 1930’s Germany with terrifying accuracy. Around the world, though, many countries are swinging towards the far right, climate change is wreaking havoc, and human rights violations abound. It is tempting to bury your head and attempt to ignore it all, especially when any action we could take individually seems so futile. Take a deep breath. Let’s talk about what we can do.

Step One: choose a single issue to focus on. Authoritarian regimes want you to be overwhelmed, exhausted, and ineffective. Individually, we need to narrow our focus down to one issue and push hard to improve that one issue. Both Omkari Williams [1] and Shannon Downey [2] have good step-by-step methods for choosing your single issue in their books.

Step Two: narrow your attention to what steps you can be taking for your issue. Stephen Covey has a good description in his book of the “circle of concern” and the “circle of influence” [3]. In essence, your circle of concern is everything in the world that you’re worried about, near or far. Your circle of influence is everything you can affect. Look around yourself and your local community. What are things you can do to make your immediate area better?

Step Three: find a like-minded community. Even after narrowing your focus, a single person can only do so much. Finding other people with the same concerns and working together will make your efforts far more effective as well as providing a reminder that you aren’t alone.

Step Four: stop fighting with people on the internet. It’s a waste of your time and energy arguing with people whose minds will never change and who aren’t arguing in good faith. Preserve your mental and emotional health. If you must argue with somebody, don’t waste energy arguing at the surface level, but direct your questions straight to the quiet part they won’t say out loud. Innuendo Studios and Philosophy Tube [4] have a good video on this, using the example of puberty blockers. Rather than showing evidence of the safety and effectiveness of puberty blockers for trans and cisgender kids alike, cut to the real issue: “Would you be ok with puberty blockers if they were proven perfectly safe, or are you simply against people having control of their own bodies?”

Step Five: take breaks. I said we can’t bury our heads in the sand and ignore the world’s problems, but that doesn’t mean we need to be activated all the time. We need to take time to step back, breathe, and find joy. As Downey says, “Fascists hate fun” [2]. Might I recommend joining me in the Unfree KAL? The pattern will be out next Saturday (March 1) and cast-on will be the following Saturday (March 8).

Now, here are some examples of actions you can take on a small level within your sphere of influence, that can lead to larger ripples.

• If you work somewhere that has been affected by Trump’s executive orders, such as a school, do not comply. Continue to support immigrants, minorities, LGBTQ+, and other oppressed groups. Timothy Snyder says “do not obey in advance,” [5] but I prefer the less diplomatic “fuck you, make me.”
• Donate to a group working for your cause. I personally like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Transgender Law Center, and the National Women’s Law Center but there are many good groups out there.
• Print off immigration rights red cards or activist zines and hand them out to your neighbors. You can find immigrant rights cards for printing on a home printer here, or PNGs to be professionally printed as business cards here. You can find various anti-fascism zines here and here, but there are zines on a wide variety of topics or you can make your own.
• Download the Internet Archive browser add-on and save journal articles, databases, and government webpages before they disappear.
• Stockpile some Plan B and make it known to your friends that you have it available, even if it is removed from shelves. Same with COVID-19 tests and NARCAN (take NARCAN training first!)
• Learn. I posted my reading list last week. Pick a book from a subject you don’t know much about and read it.
• Donate food, toiletries, or warm clothing to your local homeless shelter.
• Call your representatives, even if they are unlikely to agree with you.
• Write postcards to voters in areas having special elections.

References

1. Williams, O. (2023). Microactivism.
2. Downey, S. (2024). Let’s Move the Needle.
3. Covey, S. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
4. Innuendo Studios and Philosophy Tube. (2025). Doublewrong.
5. Snyder, T. (2017). On Tyranny.