Democracy is Crumbling. Is Anybody Doing Anything?

[LearnedHand]

Excellent essay from Sherrilyn Ifill.

https://sherrilyn.substack.com/p/democracy-is-crumbling-is-anybody

Yes. And You Can Too.

This past weekend a federal district court in Massachusetts issued a nationwide injunction ordering Elon Musk and his team of young tech supremacists to stop accessing payment and other systems at the Department of Treasury, and further ordered Musk’s team to destroy any and all https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/nyregion/attorneys-general-trump-musk-suit.html

When I posted the news on social media, I was struck by how many readers responded with one of three responses: 1) well, it’s too late they’ve already downloaded all of our information; 2) yeah, but who’s going to make them comply; they’ll just ignore it or 3) even if they defy the court’s order and are held in contempt, who will arrest them? And won’t Trump just pardon them?

To be honest, each of these concerns is valid. But the frequency and tone of these responses suggested to me that something more than cynicism was at work. Certainly, people should push back against those who might suggest that the courts alone are the “answer” to this crisis moment. Many of us remember how many “experts” suppressed legitimate alarm during Trump’s first time by encouraging us to “just wait for Robert Mueller’s report.” I am a lawyer and so I believe in the power of law as a tool to fight against injustice. But as a civil rights lawyer, I also know that law alone is insufficient.

[LearnedHand]

1. (subtle kick) Yes they are, with super instructions on how you can too

Plus a FABULOUS app for contacting congress.

[CrispyQ]

2. Wow!! An excellent commentary!!

Long, but worth the read! I tend toward pessimism so this was really lifting. It's not a bunch of empty hope, but facts about what's actually happening & ideas for how to move forward.

People are doing things. You will meet those people when you start doing things.

and this...

And yes, I know many are afraid. We have seen the vindictiveness of Trump. But we will either act now or wait until autocracy has become so unyielding that we will no longer be able to exercise our basic rights. You will become less afraid when you feel part of a group, so try and pull together a group of friends, or join a civic organization so that you are not alone. But do not give away your power and our hope that we can prevail against some of these terrible excesses. Just be careful and strategic.

[LearnedHand]

3. Me too, and I agree!

I felt a little better after reading this. And I downloaded the Five Calls app she mentioned. It's pretty sweet actually.